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As a young boy, Tyler Grimes watched Kenmore Air seaplanes take off and land from Lake Union Park. He never imagined that 20-plus years later, he’d be watching those same planes as Kenmore Air’s Lake Union Manager.
“It’s just wild to have come full circle and realize this is where I actually watched them take off as a boy,” Tyler said.
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It’s unlikely you’ve ever met Jimmy Delagardelle, but as the Shop Foreman at Kenmore Air he plays an integral role in keeping the Maintenance Department running smoothly.
“My job is to help the flow of operations in any way I can,” explains Jimmy.
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Theater. Cosplay. Comic books. Cats. Toolboxes. Woodworking. Nothing is off-limits for Beth Thompson — even sports. Which, as a self-proclaimed unathletic individual, she’s still dabbled in.
“Anytime someone said, ‘Women can’t do that,’ I’d say, ‘Watch me,’” she said.
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Joining the Kenmore Air family wasn’t the original plan. The husband-duo simply had their sights set on moving to Orcas Island — a life-long dream for Douglas Wurster who vacationed in the Salish Sea as a young boy.
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Specializing in de Havilland Otter Annuals, Jason Wills has been part of the Kenmore Air family for 17 years.
Kenmore’s changed a lot since Jason Wills first started fueling planes and washing windows on the dock 17 years ago — not just the landscape, but also the fleet. And yet, some things are just as true today as they were when he first joined the Kenmore Air family as a young college student.
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Flying wasn’t always the plan. Initially, it was a means to an end. Ava Karr wanted a job where she could travel. A job that allowed her to take adventures.
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Twenty-four-year-old Maddie Kutzera is a certified A&P mechanic at Kenmore Air, specializing in customer maintenance. She has a quick (yet quiet) wit, stunning smile, and an eye for detail. She’s also an advocate of achieving goals and dreams, through relentless hard work and tenacity. Which is a good — because women make up just 2.62 percent of the nation’s aircraft mechanics. And Maddie has big dreams.
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Husband-wife duo — Kenmore aIR Captain Brian Flegel and Line Crew Lead Jaazia C Moran Flegel — are passionate adventures. As a pair, they have trained and performed as both trapeze and acrobatic artists. They’ve spent a summer commercial fishing in Alaska and four summers woodland firefighting.
It was there, creating firebreaks and protecting the forest, that Brian’s passion for seaplanes was ignited. He learned to fly at Walla Walla University, but it was on an uphill firebreak that his own personal spark was ignited. During breaks, the couple watched as firebombers (seaplanes equipped to dump water) swooped just above the flames and released their loads.
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Chief Pilot Jay Todhunter set out to fly for Kenmore Air in 2013. But the path to his stripes wasn’t direct.
Like many of Kenmore Air’s flight crew, Jay started on the dock, splashing planes and washing windows. The job let him get his foot in the door. It also gave him access to Kenmore Air’s flight instruction department, where he earned his seaplane rating.
Jay had gotten his pilot’s license while earning his Bachelor of Science in Flight Technology at Central Washington University.
3 Generations of Mr. Munro’s Descendants (and Counting)
AT THE NORTH END OF Lake Washington, tucked beside the mouth of the Sammamish River, sits a humble airport. It has sat there ever since Bob Munro founded Kenmore Air in 1946 with two high school friends.
What started out as a one hangar, single seaplane company has grown into a thriving multi-faceted business. Today — 75 years later — picnic tables serve as departure “gates”; employees park among company aircraft, and, Munro’s descendants have been raised — quite literally. The original family home still stands at the westernmost edge of the five-acre campus where Munro and his wife Ruth raised their three children, Leslie Banks, Gregg Munro and Margie Munro.
