Woman takes flight to raise money for cancer
Norma Aycock was 47 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died a year later.
Her daughter, Shelley Ventura, in her 47th year is piloting a 12-day flight to raise money for a cure.
At 7 a.m. Wednesday, Ventura boarded her small airplane and set off from Campbell Airport in Grayslake for an eight-hour flight to Boulder, Colo.
It's the first leg of a five-stop trip to Rapid City, S.D., Fargo, N.D., and International Falls and Duluth in Minnesota.
"It was such a natural thing for me," Ventura said. "I was enthralled by flying, and then when I saw a chance to promote both aviation for women and raise money to fund cancer research, I jumped at it."
Ventura is part of the Ninety Nines, an international organization of female pilots. The group is conducting the national Fly-A-Thon, "The Ninety Nines Fly for Breast Cancer Cure."
Her goals is to raise $3,000 -- as of Wednesday afternoon, she had raised $1,185. Ventura takes donations by the mile or a lump sum, through her Web page on the American Cancer Association's Web site.
Living less than two miles from Campbell Airport, Ventura was always fascinated by the airplanes.
She jokes that her decision to get her pilot's license in 1999 was prompted by a midlife crisis.
"I took an intro to flight class, and the second the wheels left the ground I knew this was something I had to do," Ventura said.
A year later, she purchased her own plane, a Piper Archer.
That is when her husband, Charlie, knew it was time for him to get a license, too.
Charlie Ventura said that at first, his wife resisted the idea of his getting a license, wanting flying to be her thing, but eventually she warmed up to it.
Charlie is taking a commercial flight to Colorado this weekend to meet Shelley.
The couple will finish the rest of her trip together.
Ventura said her mother would have loved to see her fly. And would have probably taken a seat in the cockpit herself.
"She had a spirit that was similar to mine," Ventura said. "She was just full of life. I feel like she is flying with me."
While Ventura's mother is her primary inspiration this week, Carolyn Parmer is a close second.
Parmer, 71, of Wauconda, spotted Ventura the first day she was at Campbell Airport and recruited her for the Ninety Nines.
"Women only comprise 6 percent of pilots, so any time I see one at the airport, I have to give them all the encouragement I can," said Parmer, who has had her license since 1991.
Parmer, however, hasn't flown alone in several months. She was diagnosed with Stage Four breast cancer in January 2005, which has spread to her bones.
She called Ventura's flight to raise money for the disease a terrific contribution.
"She has a gung-ho attitude and is not afraid to take on new challenges," Parmer said. "I'm just happy I ran into her that day at the airport."
Shelley's flight
To track Shelley Ventura's flight for breast cancer:
Visit flightaware.com/live/flight/N8452W
To donate: Visit Shelley's Web page at the American Cancer Society Web site main.acsevents.org/site/TR/?pg=personal&fr_id=3519&px=1172192