James Rowe Render, husband of Patricia Trigg Render, died Friday, January 18, 2013, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center after a brief illness. He was 92 years old.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Annabelle Cheatham and C.P. Render; his sister, Mary Cheatham Render; and his daughter, Martha Childs Render Jones.

In addition to Pat, his wife of 66 years, Jim is survived by his children, Ann Render, married to Walter May of Lexington, Ky.; Trigg Render, married to Kathryn of Berger, Mo.; and Mary Hayes Herman, married to Barry of Chesapeake, Va.; as well as his son-in-law John Jones of Worthington, Ohio; ten grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Jim was born in Coldwater, Tenn. He grew up in Birmingham, Ala., and Fayetteville, Tenn. He briefly attended the University of Alabama. During World War II he served as a Martin B-26 bomber pilot flying out of England and France. He flew as part of the D-Day invasion.

Following the war he studied Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. During that time he married Pat, whom he had known growing up in Fayetteville. Upon his graduation they moved to Oak Ridge, Tenn., where he worked at Y-12, the gaseous diffusion plant operated by Union Carbide. He also engaged in graduate studies at the University of Tennessee.

In 1954 he moved with his family to Paducah, Ky., where he continued to work for Union Carbide at the gaseous diffusion plant there until 1964. After a brief period with a road contractor in Fayetteville, he went to work as the plant engineer for B.F. Goodrich at their manufacturing facility in Calvert City, Ky. He retired in 1985.

Over the years he gave generously of his time and talents as a member of Paducah’s Westminster Presbyterian and Broadway Methodist churches, serving on property committees and performing many of the tasks himself. In the late 1970s he acted as his own general contractor in the construction of a new home large enough to accommodate the visits of his children and grandchildren. Each year he expanded his vegetable garden trying out new varieties and returning to old favorites.

In 1995 Jim and Pat moved to Lexington. At age 81, perceiving that he needed a project, Jim began constructing a home built airplane, which he flew for several years delighting in taking friends aloft, landing on a grass field in Waddy and visiting his children. When he realized he could no longer maintain and overhaul the plane himself, he sold it and took up helicopter flying lessons.

Jim was proudest of his family, reveling in their love, ever ready to tell his grandchildren stories and kind and gentle with his advice to his children. He cherished Pat above all else.

Visitation and a memorial service will be held Saturday, January 26, 2013, at First Presbyterian Church, Lexington, beginning at 1:30 p.m. with the service to follow at 3 p.m.

Donations are suggested to First Presbyterian Church, to Buckhorn Children and Family Services, Buckhorn, Ky., or to a charity of one’s choice. www.milwardfuneral.com