Obituary of John Adkins

John Edward Adkins passed away at home peacefully with his family at his side. He was born Aug. 30, 1946 in Kansas City, Mo., and died in Lake Havasu City on March 22, 2012. Mr. Adkins grew up in Liberty, Mo., and graduated from Liberty High School in 1964, then attended Northwest Missouri State College in Marysville, Mo., and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was a pilot with Southern Air Transport, a front company for the Central Intelligence Agency, based in Miami, Fla., and for Air America, a civilian airline operated by the CIA during the Vietnam War. He said that he was proud that he could "fly anything with wings." He owned and operated numerous businesses prior to moving to Lake Havasu City in 1988, where he served as station manager for US Air and Lake Havasu City and Bullhead City airports. In 1992, he left airport management to found and operated Specialty Trucking until retirement in 2004. He was a member of the London Bridge Rotary Club, the Masonic Lodge and El Zaribah Shrine Club. In addition to aviation, he enjoyed water skiing, golfing and shooting pool. Mr. Adkins was preceded in death by his parents, Warren and Frances Adkins, and a stepson, Christopher Usinowicz. He is survived by his wife, Brenda Adkins of Lake Havasu City, and a daughter, Erin Caplin, her husband Eric and their children, Emma and Ethan John, of Denver, Colo.; stepson Paul Usinowicz, his wife Kendall, and their children, Brooklyn and Madison of Lake Havasu City; stepdaughter Dawn Cody and her children, Kirsten and Taylor of Surprise, Ariz., and Brittney Usinowicz of Lake Havasu City. Visitation will be at Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home on Saturday, March 24 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., ., a memorial service at Calvary Baptist Church on Sunday at 2 p.m. A reception will follow at Shugrue's Bridgeview Room. Interment will be in Fairview Cemetery in Liberty, Mo. The family requests donations to Hospice of Havasu, P O Box 597 Lake Havasu City, AZ 86405 in lieu of flowers.