My Dad...

Local business owner Jim Cheatham died suddenly in his home early Wednesday morning.  Cheatham experienced a minor heart attack and corrective angioplasty one week prior. 

 

Cheatham was recently in the news regarding how his business was devastatingly affected by the economic crisis.  A significant factor of his business collapse was the abruptly canceled helicopter contract with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department.  Cheatham was left with massive overhead for the nearly one Million dollar specialized aircraft. Just another victim of major budget cuts.

 

Born in Laveen, AZ on January 5, 1942, Cheatham later served as an aircraft mechanic and helicopter pilot in the United States Army, completing tours in both Viet Nam and South Korea.

 

Jim Cheatham moved to the Salinas area in 1967, working for Clevenger’s Air Service.  He purchased the company in late 1970 and changed the name to Verticare Helicopters in 1971.  During his 42 years flying out of the Salinas Airport, Cheatham utilized his piloting skills performing in airshows, cropdusting, aerial photography and filming, charter services, and flight training.

 

Cheatham is survived by his significant other, Cheryl Harris (Big Sur, CA); sister Janice Shoemaker (Boerne, TX); children Jodi Serrano (Sacramento, CA), Captain Amanda Evans (Osan AFB, South Korea), Stacey Wilson (Soledad, CA), Kylie Pachuilo (Salinas, CA), Amy Hayes (Yukota NAS, Japan), and Burton Cheatham (Salinas, CA); and seven grandchildren. He will be greatly missed, as he was adored by his family.

 

A Celebration of Jim’s life will be held in the Verticare Hangar (240 Mortensen Ave) at the Salinas Airport on Monday, March 16^th at 11:00am. 

 

Memorial contributions may be made to the James T. Cheatham Memorial Fund at First National Bank.