Larry B. Miller, a retired pharmacist, was inducted posthumously into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame on Oct. 16.

His daughter, Anne, accepted the award with his daughter, Beth, and wife, Ellen, as well as other relatives and friends in attendance.

Larry was one of six area pilots who conceived the idea of a local airport. The current Ogle County Airport opened in 1978. The airport is privately owned and supported, but it is available to the public. The airport was named State of Illinois Private Airport of the Year in 2007.

It is estimated that Larry participated in close to 100 Fly In/Drive In breakfasts since the late 1970s. He donated countless hours working at Pork and Pie dinners, mowing, organizing and playing his trombone at hangar dances. He was one of the original stockholders and an original member of the Ogle County Pilots Association.

Larry helped organize and was a founding member of several flying clubs, including the Cessna Flyers Club at the now-defunct Chicagoland Airport and the local Rock River Flyers. He served as an officer of the club as long as he was able and was its president for over 20 years. Larry was an active member of the Waukegan Airport Stick and Rudder Club in the late 1960s. He earned his private pilot license in 1963 flying a Cessna 140 with the Indianola (Iowa) Flying Club. He had a taildragger endorsement and later earned his IFR rating.

Many people enjoyed a plane ride with Larry. He flew Young Eagles, Let Freedom Ring Queens, parachute teams for airshows, friends and family. He influenced future flight instructors, commercial pilots, one of whom is currently flying a B747, as well as many general aviation pilots. He attended EAA Conventions almost annually since 1966 when it was originally located in Rockford and later moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame honored Larry for his efforts to provide affordable access to aviation in Ogle County. He is the second Ogle County Airport pilot to be so honored. The first was Nick Lung, who was honored in 2011 and was also one of the six co-founding pilots of C55, the Ogle County Airport.