Ed POWER

POWER, Ed On a spring day filled with the kind of clouds he loved to play tag with as he piloted his own plane time and again over 60 years, Edwin I. Power Jr., the man who built the Nut Tree Airport and was the visionary for much of the world-famous institution, became one with them. Mr. Power died March 18, 2017, in his Kenwood home in Sonoma County. He was 94. Ed was the eldest of the famed complex's second-generation partners; his brother Robert and sister Mary Helen. They built on the genius of parents Edwin I. Power Sr., and Helen Harbison Power. Together, they began the legend in 1921 by selling fresh fruit from a stand under a black-walnut tree on the Harbison Ranch, next to what was then Highway 40. Born on the ranch, Ed Jr. attended Vacaville High School and later joined the U.S. Air Corps, where for three years in World War II he was a mechanic on B-17 bombers. He came home, learned to fly on the G.I. Bill, and became a national legend in aviation. In 1955, Ed pressed for building the Nut Tree Airport to attract the flying public to the family complex. It also attracted great pioneers in aviation, while the restaurant attracted the stars of movies and politics. The airport was a model in the industry, featured in global magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post. Mr. Power is survived by his wife of 40 years, Linda Liscom, and his children, Sandra, Stephen, David and Alan. He was preceded by his son Henry, who died in a plane crash in 1984. A Mass of Christian burial is set for 10 a.m. Friday, Mar. 31 at St. Mary's Church, 350 Stinson Avenue. In lieu of flowers, family requests donations be sent to the Henry Power Memorial Scholarship Fund, Solano Community College, Dorothy.Hawkes @solano.edu.