James D. Houdek
1938 ~ 2024
Captain James Houdek, age 85, of Spring Valley, Wisconsin, passed away at his home, surrounded by family, on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. Amazingly, September 18th is the Feast Day for the patron saint of aviators and pilots, Saint Joseph of Cupertino.
James Dean Houdek was born December 19, 1938, to James C. and Marie ‘Mae’ Sedlak Houdek in Crete, Nebraska. He was one of four children, the third child. ‘Jim’ grew up farming with his family in rural southeast Nebraska. During his senior year he moved to Columbus, Nebraska. He graduated from Columbus High School with the Class of 1956. Farm life in rural Nebraska demanded a strong work ethic and attention to task. Jim met those standards. After high school Jim became a welder. Driving home one night after a long cold day on the job, Jim saw a billboard touting “Air Force, a great way of life.” It was then he decided to join the USAF and learn to fly.
Jim was the only member of his family to attend college, he went to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, enrolled in Air Force ROTC and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting. On February 2, 1963, Jim married Edith ‘Dede’ Coughenour, his college sweetheart, in Omaha, Nebraska. Shortly thereafter he entered the active Air Force by reporting to Vance AFB, OK for pilot training.
Graduating from pilot training and earning his silver wings, Jim next reported to Castle AFB, CA for Boeing KC-135 transition training. He was thereafter assigned to the 306th Aerial Refueling Squadron at McCoy AFB, FL. His active-duty USAF service Jim included two 6-month (TDY) tours to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. His squadron operations were mostly in support of operations over Vietnam. Jim, with Dede’s patient assistance, served in the USAF from 1964 until 1969. By the time of his separation from the Air Force the couple had four children.
The ‘flying bug’ had smitten Jim, and he was more inclined to continue flying than being an accountant or farmer. It is ironic that accounting and farming were to later become important focal points in his life. Jim sought airline employment and after making a wise choice, was hired by Northwest Airlines on August 04, 1969. No doubt this undertaking was no minor challenge for a family of six, but they packed up and were off to Minneapolis. Within a year the airline industry went sour, and NWA began laying off pilots. Jim, along with many other newly hired pilots, lost his job. His college education paid off when Jim convinced Northwest to hire him back as an accountant. He worked in the airline corporate offices for 8 years in Minneapolis. In 1980 Jim very happily returned to flying, and he, Dede, and their now 8 children made Spring Valley, Wisconsin their home. The family became local enthusiasts and fully involved members of the community.
In 1980 Jim returned to NWA flying as a second officer on the 727. The merger with Repubic Airline came a few years later which positioned Jim for flying as a DC-9 copilot at Minneapolis. In time he was to fly as copilot (First Officer) on the DC-9, Boeing 727 and the 747 classic. His initial captain upgrade was on the Boeing 757, for many NWA pilots a favorite aircraft. Jim was to finish his flying career flying as captain on the DC-10. This aircraft gave him the opportunity for a delightful mix of domestic and European flights.
During his years at Northwest Airlines Jim was deeply involved with the NWA Credit Union where he served on the Board of Directors. Again, that college level education in finance and accounting served Jim well.
His biggest recreational passion was tennis. Jim took his racquet with him on trips and played with people all over the world, mostly in Asia. He was one of the original organizers of the NWA Tennis Tournament and was very active in the yearly tournament planning and preparation. After the merger with Delta Airlines, the NWA tennis tournament became the Delta Tennis Tournament. He made many great friends through his love of tennis. Jim retired from Northwest on his 60th birthday in 1998, as a DC-10 captain.
After 45 years of marriage, he lost his wife Dede to cancer on November 6, 2008. Jim and Dede had eight children, six girls and two boys.
Jim later met Bonnie Baker, and they were married on November 27, 2010. They divided their time between their Florida and Wisconsin homes. Jim and Bonnie enjoyed traveling, visiting family, going on cruises, and working in their garden. Jim had a huge family, with 25 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He loved all his family and visited everyone often.
Jim was known for his selfless generosity throughout his life. He was enthusiastically involved in his community whether it was rebuilding a church, being President of the Village Board, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, being a member of the Lion’s Club, the Knights of Columbus, and the American Legion, or helping with the many projects within his own family and the Village. He was honored to be Grand Marshall of the 2023 Dam Days parade.
Some of Jim’s favorite things to do were attending his kids’ and grandkids’ activities, marching in the famous and talented El Paso Marching band, gardening, entertaining family and friends, and playing tennis. He was an honest, straight forward guy with a strong work ethic. He had endless energy – the last to bed and first one up. He enjoyed people and helping everyone. He was a skilled card player and enjoyed restoring old tractors, cars, and his father’s old pickup truck. He was just fun to be around and was a positive can-do person.
He was preceded in death by his parents Jim and Mae Houdek; wife Dede; siblings Arnold Houdek and Aldeane Horning; father-in-law and mother-in-law Kenneth and Marian Coughenour; and sister-in-law Ann Coughenour.
Jim is survived by his wife Bonnie, his sister Jeanne (Gerald) Lauenroth, his children: Elizabeth (Gregg) Deutsch, James ‘Chip’ (Jaime) Houdek, Catherine (Royce) Keehr, John (Laurie) Houdek, Laura (Scott) Kish, Karen (Bill) Fesenmaier, Debra (Craig) Jilek, and Cynthia (Shawn) Harrison. He is also survived by stepchildren Scott Bullard and Jackie (Glenn) Graham and 25 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren and many, many nieces and nephews,
It is an honor to write of such a well-rounded person. Jim, your fellow NWA pilots were honored to have you in our ranks.
(Hodek family and Bill Day)