KALAMAZOO, MICH. – Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame inductees for 2012 will include Kalamazoo notables and aviation pioneers Preston S. “Pete” Parish and Dr. Richard Upjohn Light at ceremonies May 19 at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Parish, 92, co-founded the Air Zoo with his late wife, Sue Parish, a granddaughter of W.E. Upjohn, in 1977, and currently serves as chairman on the Air Zoo’s board of directors. Parish served as vice chairman of the Upjohn company and helped establish its aviation department. In 1972, he became a principal owner of Kal-Aero, which was sold to Duncan Aviation in 1998. He has served as president of EAA Warbirds of America, and as treasurer and chairman of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).
Light, a grandchild of W.E. Upjohn, was an aviation explorer, surgeon and geographer, who flew around the world in 1934. Light also took aerial photos for the American Geographical Society, served as the society’s president, and was the first chairman of Kalamazoo’s Airport Advisory Commission. Light died in 1994.
Other 2012 inductees include Cass Hough of Plymouth; Karl W. Richter of Holly; Lt. Gen. Donavon Smith of Dowagiac; Maj. Gen. William A. Henderson of Ann Arbor; Maurice R. Hovious of Kalamazoo; and Lt. Col. Washington D. Ross of Detroit. For tickets call 269-350-2813.