Beloved Art A. Lazzarini, 63, born Nov. 5, 1947, died in an airplane accident on April 21, 2011, in Elk City, Okla. Art grew up in Pueblo, Colo., and still has family and friends there. He served in the Marine Corps from 1966-1970, including a tour in Vietnam. He met the love of his life, Bonnie Jones, in San Diego. They were married in Durango, Colo., in 1976. He learned to fly there and earned all his ratings in Farmington, N.M. In 1978, he was offered a job to fly for Scott USA with his close friend, Mike Penrose, in Sun Valley, Idaho.
He found his love of flying through teaching. He owned and operated Mountain Air Engineering in Hailey, Idaho, as a flight instructor for 33 years. His most challenging but satisfying flight instruction was with Mountain Canyon Flying of McCall, Idaho, where he instructed pilots on the fundamentals of backcountry flying.
Artie, as many referred to him, will be remembered not only as a flight instructor, but also as an author, poet, musician, teacher, designer and builder, a joke teller, story teller, sailor and big dreamer. Over the years, he has touched the lives of hundreds of people, who will never forget his uniqueness, positive attitude and laughter, generosity for others and his love for life. If you ever asked him how he was, his reply would be, "It's the best day of my life!"
He is survived by his wife, Bonnie, of Hailey; father and mother, Art and Betty; sister, Linda, and brothers Jim and Dan and family, all of Pueblo, Colo.; mother-in-law, Wenonah Jones of Anaconda, Mont.; nieces Bobbie (Aubrey) and Megan and Justin Smith of Boise; numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, and many, many friends. We will all miss him dearly.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity. A celebration of Artie's life will be held on Saturday, May 21, from 1-4 p.m. at Atlantic Aviation at Friedman Memorial Airport, Hailey, Idaho.
