Jack Stephen Reynolds went home to join his Savior on April 10, 2024, after a long illness. The loss of his dynamic presence will leave a vast emptiness where there was once the brightest sunshine of his smile. Born June 3, 1943, in Springfield, to Charles Stanley and Helen Wood Reynolds, Jack spent most of his life in the SW Missouri area, graduating from Central High School in 1961. He attended Wichita State University before graduating from Southwest Missouri State with a degree in music, and in later years, earned a Master’s Degree in Aviation Safety from Central Missouri State University. He completed his military service in the Army before starting his career as an air traffic controller at the FAA Center in Olathe, Kansas, later serving as an ATC instructor at the FAA Training Academy. In 1986, he transferred to the Springfield, Missouri, Control Tower where he remained until his retirement in 1997.

Never one to slow down for very long, after retiring from one career, Jack moved on to start a new one. As Chief Pilot for the Paul Mueller Company, he flew employees and clients around the US, Canada, and Mexico in King Air 110 Papa Mike, his pride and joy. When that airplane was sold in 2011, Jack personally delivered it to the new owners in Mauritania, Africa, and remained there for 30 days to train the new pilot. In doing so, he realized a lifelong dream of following the same route taken by Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic.

Jack was a man of strong Christian faith who shared his love of Jesus and his gift for music by regularly playing piano at church services, most recently at Mount Gilead Methodist in Bolivar.  He shared that faith in many other ways, donating time to youth aviation programs and angel flights to help kids needing medical care, giving discounted or free flight instruction, and generously helping most anyone he felt was in genuine need. He was a man of many talents, but his life’s passion was aviation, and he felt called to it at an early age. His first job as a teenager was at the Springfield Downtown Airport, working in exchange for flying lessons as soon as he was old enough to qualify. After earning his Private Pilot Certificate, he achieved his ratings for Instrument Flight, Multi-Engine Aircraft, Land & Sea Aircraft, Commercial Pilot, Airline Transport Pilot, Certified Flight Instructor, CFII, CFI MEI, and was a licensed Airframe & Power Plant Mechanic. As a Flight Instructor, Jack worked with countless students of all ages and at all levels of complexity, changing lives and shaping careers in the process. He was President Emeritus of the United States Pilots Association, a lifetime member of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association and Experimental Aircraft Association, as well as a member of the Missouri Pilots Association and the Quiet Birdmen. He was inducted into the Amelia Earhart International Forest of Friendship and on May 19, 2022, was presented with the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of safe flight.

Jack is survived by his daughter, Jacqueline and husband Shannon Bills of Willard, and son Marcus and wife Ruby of Aurora. H is also survived by grandchildren: Garrett Bills and wife Katelyn, Cierra Lawson and husband Mitch, Evy Carpenter and husband Drake, Sarah Clevenger and husband Jeff; five great grandchildren: Daxton Bills, Valor Carpenter, Cohen Carpenter, Camden Burnett and Rynlee Clevenger; brothers, John Reynolds of Rogersville and Jerry Reynolds of Springfield; sister, Susan Hankins of Louisville, Kentucky; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Sally Rice.

A private burial will be held at White Chapel Memorial Gardens under the direction and care of Greenlawn Funeral Home North in Springfield, Missouri. There will be a Celebration of Life at 3:00 p.m. on June 2, 2024, at the Springfield Downtown Airport, located at 2546 East Division Street in Springfield. All friends and family are invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers and to honor Jack’s legacy, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Ozarks Technical Community College Foundation to support students pursuing a career in aviation. Donations should be designated in memory of Jack Reynolds and can be made by clicking on the link below or by mailing a check to the OTC Foundation, 1001 E Chestnut Expressway, Springfield, MO 65802.

Jack Reynolds Memorial Contributions