Leon T. Corones

1925 - 2009

Leon T. Corones, a 45-year resident of Oxnard died peacefully on Aug. 28, 2009 in San Diego after suffering a fall in May.

Born in Long Beach July 7, 1925, Leon spent his formative years in Indio and Blythe graduating from Palo Verde High School in Blythe in 1943. He was a 4-year letterman in football and high point man his senior year along with playing a mean trumpet in the school band. He served in the US Navy from November 1943 to March 1946 stationed in San Diego and Norman, Okla.

While in the Navy he married Emily Louise Miller from Ripley, Calif., whom he had met in High School. After Navy Life Leon graduated from Riverside College and also obtained his pilot's license using the GI Bill. Returning to Blythe he joined the Riverside County Sheriff's Office as a Deputy. Still dreaming of flying for a living he was hired as a "Crop Duster" by one of the local companies, obtained five years of crop dusting experience and then opened and operated his own business, Custom Aerial Applicators, until moving to Oxnard in 1964. For the next 45 years he was involved in a series of lifelong learning experiences working throughout California, Arizona and Hawaii as a "Crop Duster" and private pilot flying 25 different types of agriculture airplanes and over 30 types of "Private Aircraft" including helicopters. Costal Ag Chemicals, Tom Shannon, Atwood, Shasta Helicopters, Custom Farm Services, Tom Singleton and Murray Air were companies he was employed by in three states. He also was employed by Delta Horticulture Services and Cal Alaska Helicopters later in life but not as a pilot. His last paid flying assignment in 1995 was his "Dream Job" in Hawaii on Oahu and Kauai flying helicopters for the sugar cane and pineapple growers.

He was 70 years old and assumed that he was "too old" to get the job. When asked by a friend to come over to Hawaii and see what the job involved and how things worked he discovered that he would be the youngest pilot on the crew and immediately accepted the job. He then spent the next 18 months in "Heaven," flying helicopters and actually getting paid to do it! Over the years he had survived a couple of plane crashes and one helicopter crash and walked away to fly another day.

He purchased a 1958 172 Cessna and, with his friend Barry Dalwig's help, rebuilt/restored the plane and named it "Maggie D." This was his pride and joy and he spent the last 10 years flying around the country visiting friends and relatives.

His last solo flight in "Maggie D" was in November of 2007 to Blythe for a high school reunion. During his days in Blythe it was not uncommon for him to land his plane out in the middle of the desert on a short, narrow, fairly flat "Hog Back" as they were called to drop off his wife and father-in-law so they could prospect for a few hours.

He was also blessed with exceptional eyesight which allowed him to locate downed airplanes, lost vehicles and hikers in the desert areas when performing Civil Air Patrol duties. He was an "Excellent and Skilled Pilot."

In addition to flying, Leon enjoyed deer hunting in Utah and Colorado, 4-Wheel drive expeditions, hiking and camping with his children and friends. He also participated in many Elderhostel trips with high school friends to places like Copper Canyon, Mexico, Canyon lands, Utah, Hawaii and a Mississippi River barge trip. A Military Service was held at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego in October 2009 in which a portion of his ashes were entombed there. The remaining ashes were spread over the Big Maria mountains just north of Blythe in April 2010.

His sense of humor and good nature were traits well known around the Oxnard Airport for the last 45 years and will surely be missed by all . He was preceded in death by his younger son, John Clayton Corones, in 2001.

His former wife, Emily Corones, has passed since Leon died. He is survived by Jim Corones, brother, of El Segundo; Marian Robinson, sister, of San Diego; Joe Corones and Felly Parel, son and daughter-in-law of San Diego; Cathy and Howard Markle, daughter and son-in-law, of Blythe. He also leaves nieces, Laraine Daniels and Denise Casinelli; grandchildren, Sara Grim, Amy Roark and Andi Watt; and great-grandchildren, Candice Denwiler, Jessie Grim, Rose Grim, Dylan Kaminski and Tommy Roark.

A "Celebration of Life" gathering to honor the memory of Leon T. Corones will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010 in Oxnard at "The Courtyard by Marriott" located at 600 East Esplanade Dr., Oxnard, CA 93036. Please stop by and say hello and join us for refreshments. Contact Joe Corones at 858-603-5545 for information.