Gene Nora Jessen

1937 - 2024

Gene Nora Jessen

January 10, 1937 - May 21, 2024

Meridian, Idaho - Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen, 87, of Meridian, Idaho, passed away on May 21, 2024. She was born on January 10, 1937, in Springfield, Illinois, to Harold and Virginia Stumbough. She grew up in Evanston, Illinois with her parents and brothers John Charles and Galen Craig. The boys were known to most as John and Craig, but Gene Nora always used both names, which proved too time-consuming for her Oklahoma University Gamma Phi Beta sorority sisters. (Try it with an Okie accent. You'll see.) At OU her name came to be pronounced "Janora," and it stuck.

Aviation was Gene Nora's passion and calling. She was introduced to Civil Air Patrol in high school, and learned to fly at OU where she added ratings and her certificated flight instructor license. As a member of the Air Knockers Flying Club, she earned multiple National Intercollegiate Flying Association awards. While instructing at Oklahoma State University in 1961, Gene Nora learned Dr. William Randolph Lovelace was looking for women pilots to undertake the same astronaut tests as the Mercury Seven. She was accepted into the short-lived program at his private New Mexico clinic, and passed the tests. The group's story has been told in different media, including the Netflix documentary The Mercury 13.

After the termination of the test program, Gene Nora's resume crossed the right desk at Beech Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, Kansas just as the company was developing its newest airplane. She flew one of three Musketeers on a 1962 promotional tour to Beech dealers in 48 states, and later chronicled the trip in one of her books, The Fabulous Flight of the Three Musketeers. Illustrated by Beech's photos, she recalls emerging from her plane to make sales calls in her dress and stilettos, and with every hair in place. This should surprise no one; even with her dry humor and rapier wit, Gene Nora remained a lady at all times. Her plane, N2303Z, has been restored to its original red livery and is part of the flying collection at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Gene Nora married fellow Beech employee Leland Robert "Bob" Jessen, father to Kristianna and Robert, on June 13, 1964. The couple was offered the opportunity to open an airplane dealership in one of three cities: Jackson, Wyoming, Scottsdale, Arizona, or Boise, Idaho. Having flown into the Idaho backcountry for their honeymoon, they chose Idaho Beechcraft at the Boise Airport. They were obliged to drive from Wichita for the move, which they had not done before, and Gene Nora always recounted that the last forty miles from Mountain Home made her think, "this is the biggest mistake I have ever made." Fortunately, the view of the Boise River from the highway (now Federal Way) set her mind at ease. Idaho Beechcraft closed in 1972, but Gene Nora would return to working at the airport when Bob and partners bought Boise Air Service in 1983.

The 1970s and '80s brought children Briana and Taylor, her company Aero Insurance brokered by Boise firm Henry-Rust and then Sedgwick, and continued flight instruction. She and her family were members of St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral. Retirement came in the new millennium following the sale of Boise Air Service. Bob and Gene Nora bought an RV and hit the road, relishing the freedom to explore that had brought them together back in Wichita. They also enjoyed vacation homes in Sunriver, Oregon, and later in McCall, Idaho.

Gene Nora was devoted to The Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots founded by Amelia Earhart and 98 others in 1929. Gene Nora served as International President from 1986 to 1988, and presided over the charter of a chapter in the Kingdom of Jordan. She sat on the Federal Aviation Administration's Women's Advisory Committee, and the Boise Airport Commission. She received many honors over the years including a place in the Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame, an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the Pathfinder Award from the Seattle Museum of Flight, and the Distinguished Citizen award from the Idaho Statesman. She was proud to have been Eileen Collins's guest at the launch of STS-63 in 1995 when Eileen became the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle.

Gene Nora was preceded in death by her husband Bob. She is survived by children Briana Jessen LeClaire (Tom) and Taylor Jessen, and grandchildren Mick LeClaire, John LeClaire and Esther LeClaire. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM Friday, July 5, 2024 at the St. Michael's Cathedral in Boise. Memorial donations may be given to the 99s Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City, or the charity of your choice.