Stanley C. Tonkin, 93, of Mendota, formerly of Naperville, died Oct. 3, 2011, in Heritage Manor Nursing Home, Mendota. There will be no services. Cremation rites were accorded. Burial will be private. Arrangements were provided by Merritt Funeral Home , Mendota. He was born Dec. 3, 1917, in Chicago to Joseph and Lilian (Rundle) Tonkin . He married Ethyl Pinney on Jan. 25, 1940, in Des Plaines. Stanley became interested in aviation in the 1920s and had early rides in an OX5 Curtiss Robin and a Travel Air. He displayed two models at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 and in 1936 received instruction in an E-2 Club. He became an A & E Mechanic, packed parachutes and learned to jump in 1939. He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and was a maintenance inspector. In 1944 he qualified as a flight engineer pilot in B24s and was discharged in 1946. Following the war, he was a mechanic in general aviation. He worked on an experimental ground effect flying machine designed by Dr. Alexander Lippisch, and built a light airplane intended to be the first plane powered by a Wankel engine that was designed by Stan Corcoran. Unfortunately, North American Aviation beat them to it. Stan donated time and instruction to CAP Cadets in a Cessna L-19. He also volunteered in search and rescue missions during flooding of the Mississippi River. His ratings included commercial and in the airplane class: single engine land and sea, multi-engine land, instrument airplane, flight instructor, mechanic airframe and power-plant. He was inducted into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004. He was a member of many aviation organizations including Silver Wings Fraternity, OX5 Aviation Pioneers, Experimental Aircraft Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and was awarded the Charles Taylor Award by the Federal Aviation Administration for over 50 years as an active A & P Mechanic. He also was a United Flying Octogenarian. He worked at several factories as a mechanic and was a senior technician at Fermilab in the proton department before retiring. He is survived his sister, Vera Schweigert of Peoria; and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2005. Memorials may be directed to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.