Jere Fountain - The 90-Year-Old Who Never Stopped Flying

At 90 years old, most people would be content to watch planes from the ground. Not Jere Fountain. This North Carolina pilot is still logging over 500 hours annually—and he's using every minute to save lives.

Fountain, a Korean War Army veteran from Richlands, North Carolina, volunteers with Pilots N Paws, a non-profit that transports rescue dogs from overcrowded shelters to their forever homes. While many pilots his age have long since hung up their wings, Fountain qualified to fly corporate jets and shows no signs of slowing down.

"It's a passion, and I always love to fly the little puppy dogs," Fountain says with characteristic understatement.

His aviation journey began in his youth, evolved through military service and model planes in college, and culminated in founding his own aviation company in 1975. After 25 years in the industry, retirement didn't mean grounding himself—it meant finding new purpose in the skies.

Now, Fountain combines his two greatest loves: flying and dogs. When he's not transporting rescue animals across state lines, he flies with his own canine companion, Lizzie, who has become something of a co-pilot herself.

"The little puppies get their forever home," he explains simply, as if there were no higher calling.

At Jacksonville Airport, where Fountain is a fixture, colleague Liz Hurst speaks for everyone who knows him: "There's nobody around here that doesn't know Jere. There's not a story that you wouldn't want to listen to with Jere."

His goal? Keep flying until he's 100.

For the rescue dogs who travel in his plane, that's nine more years of hope taking flight.