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In memory of

James "Jim /Jay" Wallace Herron

Venice, FL, USA

July 31, 1946 - September 17, 2020

Jul 31, 1946 - Sep 17, 2020

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James Wallace Herron, adventurer, international aviator and raconteur, died peacefully at age
74 on 9/17/20 at Bay Breeze Health and Rehabilitation Center in Venice, FL. He was
predeceased by his father, James Joseph, and his mother, Mary Ellen Dineen Herron.
“Jay” to his family, Jim was known for his quick, sometimes caustic wit and friendly demeanor.
He always had a story to tell, and many of them were true. Generous to a fault, Jim was a true
friend. He was the first to pitch in when there was a need, and he was quick with the “thank
yous” when the need was his.
Born on July 31, 1946, in Jamaica, Queens, New York, Jim traveled the world indulging his
passion - flying. He received his first pilot license in 1965, after training at Republic Airport in
Farmingdale, NY, and he was a graduate of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in
Daytona Beach, FL. He attended Adelphi University and NYU in New York. Rotating or fixed
wing, propeller driven or jet, floatplane or flying boat, Jim accumulated 30,000 hours in cockpits
from Abu Dhabi to Alaska. The 1970s found him working for Olympic Airways in Athens,
Greece, for Antilles Airboats in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and for a soon-to-be President in Georgia.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was the operations director and chief pilot of Waterfront
Airways in New York City, providing flights from downtown to the Hamptons, Fire Island, and the
Jersey Shore. His clients included a very famous NY real estate mogul (turned politician), a
fashion designer with the initials CK, a recording empresario and the creator of Time Warner.
His final professional stint was with Emirates. Corporate pilot, flight instructor, and 2-time crash
survivor… he was truly a phenomenon.
A New Yorker through and through, Jim followed the Yankees with intensity and fervor and
indoctrinated his son, Andrew, as a true fan. He always knew where the team stood in the
standings and could recite the roster, position by position. When Andrew broke ranks and
supported his hometown Astros instead of the Yankees in the World Series, Jim good-naturedly
donned the winning Astros’ cap. He and Andrew also shared a love of model trains and together
built an enormous Lionel train layout that wound up in the Galveston Train Museum. Jim wrote
articles for model train magazines and served on the Board of Directors of the Baltimore-Ohio
(B&O) Train Museum.
Not exactly humble, rarely in the back seat, Jim had an endearing quality and adventurous
spirit. He was generous with his navigation skills as he sailed his 35’ sailboat in the waters
surrounding St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the early 2000s. He always said that if a
movie were made of his adventures, he’d like Harrison Ford to play him!
Jim grew up in Cambria Heights, NY, where he attended Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary
School and St. Pascal Baylon High School in St. Albans, NY. He was the family leader, the
biggest and brashest of the Herron clan, and was loved by all of them.
Survived by many cousins and dear friends and his son, Andrew Powers Herron, of Houston,
TX, Jim will be cremated and his ashes broadcast among the Greek Isles, the place where he
lived his dream.

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