Caleb Amos Glick passed away in a plane crash on February 27, 2023, in Carroll County VA. Caleb was 74 years young. Caleb was born on May 9, 1948, in PA. He was married to Ila Faye Glick of Hillsville, Va.
Caleb was preceded in death by his first wife, Amanda Hershberger Glick, his parents Willis Criss and Edna King Glick, and stepmom Ruth Thuss Glick, his brother Wesley Glick, sisters Lena Steiner, Ethel Brossious and Esther Glick. He is survived by his brother Titus Glick. Children, Mervin {Leanna} Glick, Susan Wells, Carmen {Timmie} Grove and Julie {Sam} Fields. Stepson Patrick {Donna} Neal
Grandchildren:
Mervin’s children: Amy {Alvin} Mast, Sarah {David Eby}, Lydia, Curtis, and Andrew Glick.
Susan’s Children: Colin, and girlfriend Zoie, and Kevin Wells.
Carmen’s children: Joshua, Jeremiah and Jessica Grove
Julie’s children: Savannah {Trevor} Martin and Emma McCarthy.
Great Grandchildren: Amber Joy Eby, baby Martin arriving in May, baby Mast arriving in August.
Caleb was a legend. You will never meet or get to know a man like him. His love for aviation radiated out of his entire being. He had a wealth of knowledge from all his life experiences. He could fix any engine, fly almost anything with wings or a rotor, and instill the love of flying into your soul. He did all of this with patience, kindness and a love for life. He was a great mentor.
Caleb’s life was not boring, and neither was our childhood. How fortunate we are to be his children. We grew up around propellers, wings and rotors. We had an adventurous childhood. Dad would land on the airstrip on the farm with only the lights from the three wheeler and a Datsun pickup truck. He was a crop duster using a helicopter, then switched to a fixed wing. He landed many an airplane in a field no one else would dare land in.
Dad had a tremendous work ethic. He only went to school through the 6th grade, as typical of Mennonite families at that time. He was dyslexic, but that didn’t stop him from learning or pursuing his dreams. In Rustburg VA he farmed on the family farm and crop dusted. In 1984 the family moved to Waynesboro VA where he managed the airport for about 10 years. He was an airplane mechanic, refurbished antique airplanes and taught people how to fly. He obtained his GED in 1989. In the early 1990’s the family moved to Orange County VA where he managed the airport until he obtained his dream job with the FAA. He and Mom moved to Alaska, a place he always dreamed of going. He retired from the FAA in 2014. He continued his love for aviation at the Twin County Airport, Hillsville Va, after marrying Ila Faye. It didn’t matter where he went, where he lived or what he did, he impacted everyone he met. Every airport he worked at benefited from his charisma.
On February 27th, he flew to Burlington NC to pick up some airplane parts. On the return trip he encountered a squall line with wind, rain and fog. The radar track shows he made a u turn and then the track was lost. It appears that he was attempting to bank right to land in a field and his wing caught a tall pine which caused him to crash in the woods. He was found on February 28th by pilot friends from Twin County airport via helicopter.
We know without a doubt that he is with Jesus in Heaven. The Bible says, “Absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”. He loved you all. He would want you to live for the Lord and to shine your light in the world around you. He was patient, kind and exhibited temperance. He uplifted the downtrodden, he always said that could be us. Let’s live by his example.
Thank you all for your prayers, food, cards, condolences and support. We are fortunate to have a huge extended family thanks to our aviation friends. Thank you to the NTSB, Civil Air Patrol, FAA, all the state troopers and other agencies that participated in the search, recovery, future reconstruction of the plane and guarding of the crash site. A special thank you to dad’s friends at Twin County Airport, especially Bill Bryant, Westin Burcham, Jerry Davis, Scott Hedrick, Mike Lawson and the Stephen Dalton family. Greg Campbell of Wytheville is the co-owner of the 150. Greg, we appreciate the calmness, love and support you extended our family.
We have set up an email account. We would love for you to email your stories of Dad. We will compile those stories and create a book of them. It is [email protected].
Those wishing to view the service may do so by visiting Victory Way Baptist Church's website at https://victorywaybaptist.com/. You may also view by visiting the church's facebook page.
The Glick family
Read More
