Obituary Published: 2003-05-11 in The Joplin Globe
Eugene C. Ingram

Eugene Clifford Ingram passed quietly from this life at 9:45 p.m. on May
8, 2003, after combatting Lou Gehrig's disease for the past five years.

He was born Feb. 4, 1926 to Clifford and Ada Peasley Ingram in Terre
Haute, Ill.

He was married to Marilyn Ruth Louden on Aug. 1, 1948. She survives,
along with two sons and their wives, Mark and Traci Ingram of Purdy, Mo.
and Chris and Paula Ingram of Springfield, Mo.; one granddaughter, Terra;
three great-grandchildren, Keifer, Katrina and Seamus. Also surviving are
a sister, Mary Johnson of West Burlington, Iowa; a niece, Debra Louden
LeVey of Monterey,Calif., who is formerly of the home; and dozens of
other nieces and nephews.

"Gene" as he was known and his father operated Clifford Ingram's Garage
in Terre Haute, Ill. before he moved to Carthage in 1962 where he and his
family founded and operated Carthage Airways. In 1973 he sold the company
and joined Legget & Platt where he founded their aviation department with
one airplane, a Cessna 310. Under his guidance the flight department
managed to keep up with and support the company's success and growth,
graduating into turbo-props and eventually business jets, operating three
of them at the time of his retirement in February 1996. His flying career
had begun in 1944, and at his retirement he had more than 23,000 flying
hours, having flown over 100 different types of airplanes. He possessed
an Airline Transport Pilot certificate with ratings to fly single and
multiengine airplanes and jets and also served as a designated pilot
examiner for the FAA, conducting 1,852 flight tests for them. He was a
member of the Quiet Birdmen Society, and a charter member and former
governor of the Joplin Hangar. After his retirement he often commented
that what he missed most about his busy flying career was not seeing the
hundreds of friends he had made around the U.S.A., with whom he visited
on his trips.

Gene was a 33rd degree mason, a member of the United Methodist Church in
Carthage, a member of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association and a
H.O.G. member. He had and loved many activities outside of aviation and
mastered the skills of each. Among these were fishing, tennis, billiards,
gun building, furniture building, antique automobile restoration and
motorcycling. He handcrafted many exquisite muzzle loading firearms and
pieces of furniture for his family and friends; completely restored a
1919 Ford Model T; and toured on his Harley-Davidsons all over the U.S.A.
and Canada.

He will be missed by his hundreds of friends and family.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 13 at Ulmer
Funeral Home in Carthage.

Donations can be made to Community Hospice or United Methodist Church of
Carthage, Mo. in care of Ulmer Funeral Home