Kenneth Edward Squires

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 16, 2014, at 11:00 AM in Delhomme Chapel of the Flowers, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA, for Kenneth E. Squires, 60, who passed away on Sunday, August 10, 2014 in a helicopter related accident in Iberia Parish. Interment will be held in Lafayette Memorial Park Cemetery, 2111 W. Pinhook Rd., Lafayette, LA Reverend Wallace Millsaps, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jeanerette, will conduct the funeral services. Eulogist will be Frank Barber. He is survived by his beloved wife of 33 years, Pearl Lafleur Squires; two daughters, Patrice Squires and Kimberly Squires Maples and her husband Geran; five grandchildren, Mason and Gabe Pisani (and their father, Rickey Pisani, Jr. and his wife Alison), Mia Collette daughter of Patrice Squires, Caleb and Skyler Maples; his mother, Abbie Squires; and, two brothers, Raymond Squires and his wife Christine and Steve Squires and his wife Charlene. He was preceded in death by one daughter, Pamela Squires Pisani; and his father, Edward R. Squires. Ken Squires was born on April 30, 1954 in Mississippi, was raised in Texas and resided in Louisiana for most of his life. He attended Pine Tree High School and Kilgore College in East Texas and obtained his first pilot's license for flying airplanes at the age of 17 at the Gladewater Airport in Texas. Ken moved to Waco, TX to work as a crop-duster and at age 25 (1979), he responded to a newspaper advertisement for crop-dusting aerial work in Arnaudville, LA. He started spraying cotton and rice in North Louisiana, then soybeans and sugarcane in South Louisiana in the early 80's. Aviation was his passion and Ken was a self-made man with great work ethics. He started Penn-Tex Helicopters, Inc. in 1979 and was the helicopter crop-duster originator in South Louisiana. He designed and built his own spray gear and helicopter prototypes. From 1985-2014, he perfected the style of helicopter crop-dusting and repaired wooden helicopter blades, which were almost obsolete. He was a licensed A & P Mechanic with Inspector's Authorization and a flight instructor for both airplanes and helicopters. As a flight instructor, he taught over 100 students how to fly, while amassing a remarkable 25,000 flight hours. Ken was on the board of the Iberia Parish Airport Commission and while serving on the board, he obtained grants to fund the building of aircraft hangers at the Jeanerette Airport for residents and pilots to use. Ken was a teacher to everyone, loved his family and was very goal oriented. He talked to everyone and was knowledgeable in many, many things. He loved art, music, reading and learning. Ken wrote a book "Standoff at French Bayou", which has been published on Amazon. He did everything a man could do to provide for his family. Ken will be greatly missed by his family, friends and all who knew and loved him. Pallbearers will be Raymond Squires, Steve Squires, Geran Maples, Rickey Pisani, Jacob Humphries and Perry Vannoy. The family requests that visiting hours be observed in Delhomme Funeral Home on Bertrand on Friday, August 15, 2014 from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Visiting hours will continue on Saturday from 9:00 AM until the time of service. Personal condolences may be sent to the Squires family at www.delhommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements. EULOGY: Kenneth Edward Squires - A Memorial Intro - Frank Barber When I was asked to give this eulogy of Ken, I was honored, but puzzled nonetheless. How could anyone possibly describe Ken Squires, giving him the honor that is due him in a short speech? Well here goes my best: Many of you received requests that you submit three things that describe Ken. The responses were very nice, and the family thanks you. Almost everyone replied with the same theme, that is, there is no way to use only three words to describe Ken Squires. Ken was active on many different planes of life making it difficult to label him. Among the words submitted: • Aviator, Dedicated, Paw - son-in-law • Friend, aviator, database • Integrity, World-class, friend • Coffee, calls to the manufacturer, and making things, such as tools sacred • Arts, coffee and coffee ring stain trademark • Flying, Doritos and History Channel Ken was a complex man, no doubt. Many facets of humanity were the glue that held Ken Squires together. First, family. Many of us knew Ken on a personal level. We know that he dedicated his life to seeing about his expanding family. Whether it was tirelessly pouring concrete for the family homes, to working the BBQ, to entertaining his grandchildren, he was always making sure his family was well taken care of. The Squires' family has indeed suffered a great loss with the passing of their patriarch. Humor. Ken was extremely intelligent in many areas, humor, probably towards the top of the list. Humor and lightheartedness were blended seamlessly into the way he communicated. Ken had a keen sense of when you were in need a wisecrack or two and he would plug them right in. His humor was of the dry sense, most of the time. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he was serious. If you didn't get the joke, he would say something like "This is the part where you are supposed to laugh . . . ." When you were finished laughing, he knew that he had broken off some ice and could reach you better. If you laughed too hard, he just hung up on you, or left the room . . . but in a nice way. Aviation. I think the thing all of us aviators will miss the most about Ken is his vast knowledge of everything aviation. Ken held nearly every license and certificate that the FAA issued. He received his first license to fly when he was a mere 17 years of age. He was a licensed pilot of helicopters and airplanes, certified flight instructor of both, and he was a licensed Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic even holding the coveted Inspection Authorization certificate. Ken had over 25,000 hours of flight time. Ken was the pioneer of helicopter crop-dusting in Louisiana. Until Ken came to these parts, all the aerial crop-dusting was done with fixed-wing airplanes. Ken introduced and successfully integrated helicopter crop-dusting as a viable means of protecting agriculture. Ken made a way for farmers to have more options in protecting their crops. Ken also was an innovator, inventor and developer of aviation, his brilliance showing in his biggest achievement, the concept helicopter "Bushwacker", what Ken called the "Chevrolet of Helicopters". Some of us have seen the drawings on this machine. It is truly a fine piece of engineering. Ken's dream was to be a manufacturer of the Bushwacker. The Bushwacker is a concept low-cost, multi-functional helicopter which could be utilized by multiple industries. Ken designed it to have a 6 cylinder Chevrolet engine, so that more people could do their own maintenance, always wanting to expand aviation and ever trying to help the little guys. It even had a PTO (Power Take Off) so you could run a pump or other implement after landing in the field. Those of us who are involved in aviation knew that any of us could call Ken at anytime and ask his advice on everything from questions about a magneto, advice on the language in a hangar lease, wingtip vortices, or even on how to bargain with someone when buying an aircraft. Ken knew it all when it came to aviation. "He will be missed greatly by all of us pilots that knew him and called upon his knowledge of all things that fly." (Larry Burns) Ken was also a certified flight instructor, teaching many of us to fly and fly safely. "Ken was my very first flight instructor and my inspiration to be a pilot. . . He always pushed me to better myself as a pilot and not settle for 'normal'". (Ben Stagg) I don't know the exact number of pilots today who were trained by Ken, but I have read emails from people who trained under Ken who now own successful aviation businesses to pilots of supersonic B-1 Bombers. His passion for aviation was unmatched. "A lot of pilot’s careers started with him, especially mine. My life is a full life with a ...... hole in it now, but there are always my memories and the experiences that I learned and shared with Ken that will always be inside of me." Ed Buford To those of us who had the privilege of learning from Ken, we can all express appreciation for his ability to size us up on our skill level, his ability to convey important points of aviation to us and do it all with his calm demeanor. Like when you really botched an auto-rotation, getting the shakes, sweating and throwing choice words, Ken would calmly grab the controls, demonstrate a perfect auto-rotation and state, in his ever so tranquil voice "see, there is no necessity for drama" Whether in ground school or in the cockpit with Ken, you always knew you were going to leave his presence with more knowledge than when you came and that whatever question you threw at him, he had the answer, ever ready to explain his reasoning in understandable language, never insulted by our puzzling questions. (Although, if your question was really stupid, you might get a squinty face and perhaps a good laughing at). But even then, Ken would just brew another pot of coffee and discuss the topic to a breakthrough point. If things really went south, he would say something like "Why don't you finish your coffee and run down to town for a couple of Hot Links to ease the pain for us" To be a student of Ken Squires, meant to be a student of sorts for life. He always wanted to know your progress, no matter what path in aviation you took. He truly cared about us. Friend and Mentor. Ken never ceased to be a true friend to us. I concur with the thoughts of many of you who sent emails and posted to the memorial section, stating that Ken was genuinely concerned about us as friends, and concerned about our families, always asking us about our well-being in his unique conversation style. Although Ken had three children of his own, he ran sort of his own personal adoption agency, constantly taking under wing, various people, hoping to make aviators, mechanics, welders or just better human beings out of them. He filled voids in many young men who lacked strong father figures, filling in as a father or older brother where needed. Many of us owe Ken great debts of gratitude for sticking with us, through all of our human frailties, until we achieved worth-wile things such as our pilot licenses, ratings, etc. Ken always accepted a person for who he was. Even if he did not fully understand the particular idiosyncrasies of a person, he was always willing to work with the person. You knew you were always a "case-study" with Ken, providing him free entertainment. Especially when he stroked his beard with one hand, twitched his head to one side while staring at you, mumbling "Hummmmm" Although Ken was highly successful in walking people up the steps of progress, occasionally he would get frustrated. During our many conversations, where we would sort of compare notes and see who could make the other one laugh more, Ken would rate the progress of people under his tutelage. Ken's highest rating would be something like "He is one fine aviator, I enjoy teaching him . . . " or words to that effect. He was quick to tell you when you were making progress and would encourage you. He truly appreciated and desired us to reach higher. On the other end of the grading scale, when Ken was really frustrated at the lack of progress of someone, he would say something, never mincing his words, like "I don't know what to do with him, Frank, the boy doesn't even own a pocket knife". The Arts and Humanities. Ken also was a self-described "student of human behavior", ever eager to learn more about the people around him. His dissertation of sorts was written and is entitled "Standoff at French Bayou", the only novel which is based on the crop-dusting industry, written by Ken over the last few years and finished this year. If you have not purchased it on Amazon, I encourage you to do so. It is a great read and gives a good insight into the amazing way Ken could communicate. It also displays Ken's appreciation for the art of literature. Even the cover of the book was a reproduction of one of Ken's oil based paintings, which is on display here today. Public Service Ken served on the Iberia Parish Airport Authority, becoming the chairman of the board. He put many hours of effort into developing aviation in our parish. Even when Ken was not serving in an official capacity he was working in the background to bring much needed funding for the two airports in Iberia Parish. Today we say goodbye to Ken Squires. We have all suffered a great loss with the passing of Ken. We have lost a mentor, a fellow aviator, a father and father-figure, a brother, a teacher and professor, an artist, an innovator, a humorist, a great friend. May the Lord always quicken us to the good things that we learned from our brother Ken as his legacy lives on in all of us, Amen. Frank Barber August 16, 2014

Kenneth Edward Squires

April 30, 1954 - August 10, 2014