She came to Tucson twice, did Jean LaRene. The striking photo of her to the right is colorized from the black and white by Joel Harris.

Jean probably liked the smell of dust and oil and leather as her engine ticked to a stop. She landed at Tucson August 24, 1931 and August 22, 1932, both Mondays. On each occasion, she was flying NC592H, her Rearwin Ken-Royce airplane (named for manufacturer Rae Rearwin's two young sons, Kenneth and Royce) to Cleveland to participate in the National Air Races.

In 1931, she did not place in the cross-country event, but flew the Rearwin to fourth place in the 30-mile pylon race in Cleveland. In the 1932 race, she was forced down in wilderness north of Abilene, TX. Neither she nor the airplane suffered damage, but repairs and other incidents forced her to fly to Dallas, get in her car and drive to Cleveland.

Her airplane is a cream, orange and black Rearwin Ken-Royce, manufactured in February 1930 in Salina, KS. It is a model 2000-C, with a 185 HP Curtiss Challenger engine. Only three were made, costing $6,500 new. Jean did not own the airplane during the time she raced it. Rather, Long & Harman, Inc. Airlines, an early air transport company at Love Field, purchased it in 1931 from the factory. She contracted to fly it.

Roger Freeman, who now owns Jean’s airplane, also holds with great care and dignity her files and memorabilia of a life in aviation. The photo at left (courtesy or Roger) shows Jean in the cockpit of Rearwin NC592H.

As I reviewed her effects and diaries at Roger's facility, a complex personality with attitudes, needs and conflicts emerged. Born Florence Lorene Donohue on December 31, 1901, she married early and had two sons and a daughter by 1925. She divorced, and the children were cared for in a foster home, causing her much discomfort. It is not clear when or why she changed her name to Jean LaRene, but it happened during the late 1920s.

Jean learned to fly at Chicago Municipal Airport in 1928 (news accounts cited her as the only “girl” to make her first solo from that field). She held the seventh transport pilot certificate issued to a woman. The following year she became a charter member of The Ninety-Nines. Between 1928 and 1936, she flew races, hopped passengers and flew endurance events.

She mingled with many famous female pilots of her day, noting in her address book Amelia Earhart, Ruth Stewart (photo at left of Ruth with Jean on the right, courtesy of Roger Freeman), Gladys O’Donnell and Clema Granger. When in Chicago, she bunked and partied with Phoebe Omlie. From 1931 to 1934, she was governor of the South Central Section of The Ninety-Nines. She gave a number of radio speeches on the topic of women taking their rightful places in aviation. One speech was drafted on the back of an envelope from the Hotel Drake in Carthage, MO. The envelope, as well as the finished, typewritten script, is among her effects.

She had a number of relationships with men, which terminated by most of the common means; divorce, death and “Dear John” letters. One association, with Lou Foote, endured in her diaries and in her life. She married for the second and last time in 1936 to Mr. Foote, an aviation pioneer in his own right. They operated for many years Lou Foote Flying Service, a pilot training and Taylor (later Piper) Cub distributorship in Dallas, TX. Jean was a pilot for the organization, demonstrating Cubs and transporting passengers 3-4 days a week in a Stinson and a J-5 Travel Air owned by their company.

Her diaries reveal a number of preferences. She noted fondness for Mexican food and “sizzling steak” dinners. She owned dogs and liked horse races and “craps” (some of her gambling pots reached $100, a good sum back then). Besides flying, she drove automobiles around the United States. In November 1935, she purchased a 1936 Pontiac Cabriolet for $1,310.35. The original bill of sale is among her documents, and well-worn photos show her posed at typical tourist destinations. Click here and let Jean show you what the 1936 Cabriolet model looks like.

As well, her diaries recorded, in terse statements, record flights by sister pilots and Ninety-Nines (for example, Saturday January 12, 1935, “Amelia Earhart flew from Honolulu to San Francisco today.”), and their deaths (Thursday January 5, 1933, “Ruth [Stewart] and Debie [Stanford] killed one year ago today.”) Even so, it is clear she was sentimental. Among her effects are many handmade Easter and Valentine cards from her children, and letters from them on faded foolscap. She died too young of a heart attack May 28, 1960 in Lockhart, TX.

What became of her beloved Rearwin? Her diary of May 27, 1934 states, “Flew Ken Royce for last time today. Going to sell it.” And on June 15, “Mr. H.[Harman] sold my Ken Royce to Bob Albright the other day.” Through the rest of the 1930s, the Rearwin passed through seven owners. Finally, in 1940, Jean and Lou purchased and owned it until 1997. Then, as part of Lou Foote’s estate, it transferred to Roger Freeman.

These days, NC592H makes its home at the Old Kingsbury Aerodrome in Kingsbury, TX owned by Mr. Freeman. The shops at the Aerodrome are impressive. They are well equipped and supplied with the gear and materials of restoration, including machinery and tooling for making wood and metal parts from scratch, a number of vintage engines, and many board feet of aged Sitka spruce, which is milled to specification on-site.

The fuselage and tail feathers of NC592H are restored. The metal tube fuselage and cockpit aprons are original; the wooden stringers are new. It is almost ready for fabric. The wings are “rough”, still showing a major spar splice performed and documented in 1937. Although there is no timeline for completion, we can be sure this airplane, and Jean's spirit, will fly again.