James Nathan Lantz

James Nathan Lantz (Jim), 62, slipped away quietly on Monday, October 21, 2024, with his mother at his side at The Ashford on Broad assisted living facility following a bout with pneumonia. He was the son of Lova Kay Lantz and the late Dr. James S. Lantz, assistant superintendent of the Upper Arlington Schools from 1977 to 1983.

Born in Ashland, Ohio, on December 11, 1961, Jim lived a number of places during his growing up years, including Fargo, North Dakota; Des Moines, Iowa; Delta and Westerville, Ohio; and Flint, Tekonsha, and Albion, Michigan. Being a Michigan football fan in Buckeye Country was occasionally a challenge, but, in truth, he rooted for both the Buckeyes and the Wolverines . . . until the final game of the season.

An entrepreneur from the age of 10, he picked and sold strawberries, mowed yards, refinished furniture, worked as a roofer’s assistant, delivered newspapers, and took on whatever odd jobs came his way to fund his joint loves of flying and collecting records of his favorite songs and music groups. He acquired a wide collection of vintage LPs and 45s beginning in the 1970s.

His three major interests, aside from his work, which was always given 100% of his effort, were planes and flying, photography, and Formula One auto racing, all interests acquired from his dad. His dad began taking him to various airports when he was a toddler, to, in Jim’s words, “watch big eeeee’s (the sound a jet engine makes) go high in sky.” By age 7, he had his first camera and began taking blurry photographs. At age 10 his dad took him to his first auto race at the Michigan International Speedway in the Irish Hills. They attended later races together at the Indianapolis Speedway and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Also at age 10, he flew unaccompanied for the first time from Fargo to Minneapolis to visit friends of his parents. At age 13, studying the airline timetables he now collected (he also had a vintage collection of timetables), he discovered that a Boeing 747 was flying from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Funded by his paper route money, his December birthday present to himself was his first ride on a 747. He planned the route—Toledo to Cleveland to Pittsburgh, where he boarded the 747 to Chicago, and returned to Toledo. All on his own.

At age 15, his birthday gift to himself, again funded by paper route money, was a round-trip ticket from Columbus to Cleveland. He flew to Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront airport on a cold December day, walked three miles to Terminal Tower, rode the subway to Cleveland Hopkins airport, explored the second airport, returned to Burke, and flew back to Columbus.

He moved to Upper Arlington with his parents and siblings in 1977. His first job with a paycheck was at MCL Kingsdale as a bus boy, followed by advancement to more responsible positions at various MCL locations during high school and beyond. During high school, his interest in photography led him to become a photographer and later photo editor for The Arlingtonian, the UAHS newspaper. He graduated from Upper Arlington High School in 1980.

When he left MCL, he was drawn to the 94th Aerosquadron restaurant at Port Columbus airport, where he worked for several years, and where he met his future wife. The 94th continued to play a role in his life for special occasions, including his wedding rehearsal dinner, anniversaries, and birthdays. When the 94th closed its doors in June 2023, he and his wife visited for a final time and were interviewed in a brief local television news clip.

After his years in food service, he followed his photography interest to a 20-year career with Cord Camera, beginning in the photo lab developing film and advancing through their various stores until he became manager of the flagship store on West Fifth Avenue for a number of years. During that time, he also owned and operated his own photography business, FreeLantz Photography, focusing primarily on weddings.

In 1987, he married Cathy Ann Harper and moved to the east side of Columbus, where he lived for the rest of his life.

After leaving Cord Camera in the early 2000s, he decided to pursue his first love, flying and the airline industry. Beginning as a ramp worker with wands guiding flights to their gates, he advanced quickly to a variety of administrative positions as his managerial experience became evident. He worked for Delta Global Services (DGS), then became Director of Operations for the start-up airline Skybus. When Skybus closed in 2008, he returned to DGS.

Flight benefits allowed him finally to fly as much as he wanted, and fly he did. All over the world. Sometimes just to see an airport, or because it was the longest flight of any airline and he wanted to experience it, or because it was a flight on a vintage 747. His work also included travel, which made it not work at all. On a number of occasions, he spent multiple months in Hawaii establishing new airline stations, and traveled regularly to airports ranging from Guam to Alaska to Atlanta and points between.

All of his interests were pursued with passion. He attended auto races at tracks throughout Ohio, New England, and Florida, and became a track flagger, wearing his racing whites and working at tracks such as Nelson Ledges in Ohio, Watkins Glen in New York, and Lime Rock in Connecticut. He was as knowledgeable about the cars, the drivers, the peculiarities of the tracks, and the intricate skills required to pilot the cars as any race commentator. He flew to France three times to attend Le Mans at the famous international race track there. “Winning” was one of his favorite movies and music soundtracks. For his 60th birthday, he flew to Florida for the races at Sebring and Daytona. In May 2022, he went to the Formula One race at Mid-Ohio with his mom and brother-in-law Pierre. It was a perfect day, and the final race he attended in person.

He especially enjoyed family gatherings, and never missed a birthday or holiday get-together. A must-have at these gatherings was his mom’s fresh fruit bowl; everyone else’s portion was served in a dessert dish; his was served in a salad bowl. One of the highlights of birthday gatherings was the ad libs he wrote in birthday cards. They were always clever and kept everyone laughing.

The onset of Covid ended work travel and hence his airline job. An opportunity opened for him to work in airline cargo for Global Air Transport (GAT) based at the Columbus airport. Without missing a beat, he dove into learning an entirely new aspect of airline work and excelled. In March 2023, he received an award from Alaska Air Cargo as Cargo Champion 2022 for the Northeast Region. He was one of only five recipients nationwide. He was unable to attend the award ceremony in Seattle because of the advancement of his Parkinson’s Disease, which had been diagnosed in May 2018.

During the final year of his life, Jim worked from home as much as possible. He faced his Parkinson’s with courage and optimism, and kept his sense of humor. His mom and siblings visited every weekend, and all gathered a number of times for comedy movie marathons. Monty Python movies were at the top of his list. In August 2024 he moved to The Ashford on Broad.

He was preceded in death by his father, Jim, and is survived by his wife Cathy, mother Lova Kay, sister Natalie (Pierre) Wolfe, brother Joshua (Kristine) Lantz, nephews Alex (Lura) and Jacob Wolfe, and nieces Olivia and Emma Lantz.

According to his wishes, he will be cremated. There will be no service. His life will be celebrated at a later date at a private family gathering. Donations in his memory may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Please mail donations to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741, or donate online at www.michaeljfox.org.