BLOOMINGTON - Chuck Schumacher never learned to fly a plane but friends and family gathered for the dedication of an aviation park in his honor Saturday consider him the pilot of the Prairie Aviation Museum.

"He always had a love of airplanes and aviation. He visited the museum and became a volunteer from that day on," said Mary Schumacher, widow of the long time museum volunteer who died in December 2006.

The park dedicated to Schumacher is located adjacent to the museum on Illinois 9 east of Bloomington and serves as home base for seven aircraft displayed for visitors.

Schumacher was remembered for his dedication to the museum, performing every service from cutting the grass to traveling thousands of miles to bring planes to the aviation park in Bloomington.

"We were very fortunate that Chuck came our way," museum vice president David Smith told the audience.

During more than 25 years as a volunteer, Schumacher was responsible for the small things that made the museum special, including the Christmas wreaths placed on the planes each year, according to museum curator Frank Thompson.

"Even though Chuck didn't become the pilot he may have wanted to be, he was the pilot of all these planes he brought here," said Thompson.

Jim Ondeck made numerous trips with Schumacher and recalled his friend's kind nature.

"He was the ultimate gentleman. Within five minutes you were Chuck's friend," said Ondeck.

Disassembling an aircraft and transporting it hundreds of miles is a complicated job requiring painstaking attention to details, said Ondeck.

"Chuck was an army of one. To move one aircraft in your life would be quite a thing but to move six is mind blowing," said Ondeck.

Ralph Hafley donated the services of his crane business, Hafley Crane Service, to move the planes.

"You never had to worry about getting somewhere and having things not right. He was very precise," said Hafley.

Friends and family members laughed Saturday as speakers recalled several of Schumacher's trademarks, including his red pickup truck and a yellow clipboard that he used to write down details of what he needed to do.

In addition to the time he spent at the museum, Schumacher also volunteered at

local nursing homes, show-ing residents videos he put

together.