Organizations come together to grant wish
By John Bohlmann
Columbia Gorge News
HOOD RIVER — Pete Woolley, 94, a resident of Flagstone Senior Living in The Dalles, is no stranger to the sky, but it’s been some time since he last flew. On Sept. 23, Woolley fulfilled his wish to take one last flight at the Ken Jernstedt Airfield in a two-passenger plane.
Upon arrival to the airfield, Woolley said he was “thrilled beyond words,” with a tone of mirthful sarcasm, but nevertheless genuine glee.
Woolley lives in The Dalles but receives treatment at Bristol Hospice in Hood River. More than a dozen employees from both facilities made the trip to watch him live his latest adventure.
“You can see there’s a lot of community support here, and that’s because he is such an incredible man,” said Flagstone Senior Executive Director Hayley Drader. “A lot of times, things that happen in life can make you bitter, and he is so sweet.”
Diana Bailey, Woolley nurse at Bristol Hospice, added, “This is a day where he can have that complete and total joy.”
The flight was arranged by Thomas Keolker, Bristol Hospice liaison. Keolker visits Flagstone on a weekly basis and volunteers at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum.
“I heard about Pete’s desire to fly one last time from our social worker, Kasandra Babcock,” Keolker said. “It’s part of her job to get to know our patients as best as she can so she can help them in whatever way possible.”
Woolley’s experiences in flying began as a young boy. His mother, who sold homemade wares throughout the Pacific Northwest, traveled in her friend Virginia’s “Tail Dragger,” a two-person Cessna — he brought the framed photo he keeps in his room of his mother (holding her Cocker Spaniel “Ike”) and Virginia standing in front of the plane on a sunny day to the airfield.
Beyond childhood, his time in the air was substantial, having ridden in the Good Year Blimp over Portland, serving at a small Air Force Base in Alaska, and, one time, transporting live crabs that broke loose while still airborne. But a pilot’s license never came to be for Woolley. “I was always a passenger,” he said. “I was taking lessons, and something stopped that some time ago.”
Woolley’s final flight was piloted by 20-year-old Jonathan Hart, who works with the FLY-IT Academy in Hood River; FLY-IT donated the hours to make the flight possible.
Before meeting, Woolley joked, “He doesn’t fly upside down, does he? I don’t want my hairpiece to fall off,” something he repeated multiple times to the delight of the staff. After being strapped into his seat, he fluttered his hands in a gesture of flapping wings and said, “Let’s go!”
Take-off and landing were met with eruptions of cheers and enthusiastic waving from staff. Asked how the half-hour flight around the valley went, Woolley succinctly said, “It was a lot of fun.” Not one to miss the opportunity to crack a joke, he expressed relief that he wasn’t pushed out of the plane during the flight.
Once Woolley’s feet were back on the ground, a staff member asked if he was ready to have some french fries. “Ab-so-LUTE-ly,” he responded, thus rendering Wooley’s dream day complete.
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