Funerals set for men killed in plane crash near Oxford

CEDAR RAPIDS - Funeral services have been set for two men killed Friday in an airplane crash near Oxford.

A funeral Mass for James A. 'Jim” Spicer takes place at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Ludmila Catholic Church, 211 21st Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids. Visitation is from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the church with a scripture service planned for 3 p.m.

A funeral service for Terry J. Koehn takes place at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 1701 Eighth St., Coralville. Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Lensing Oak Hill, 210 Holiday Road, Coralville.

Spicer, 53, of Cedar Rapids, and Koehn, 70, of rural Iowa City, were killed in the crash of a single-engine, 1965 Piper Cherokee 180 around 3:08 p.m. Friday, according to a statement issued by Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek.

Koehn was a longtime Coralville police officer and also was one of the people who ran the Green Castle Aero Club in Oxford. A full obituary is to be published Tuesday, according to the funeral home.

According to his obituary, Spicer was born Sept. 25, 1963, in Luverne, Minn. He served for six years in the National Guard and earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from North Dakota State University in 1986.

He went on to work for Interstate Power & Light, Alliant Energy and ITC Midwest, which brought him and his family to Cedar Rapids in 2008.

According to his obituary, Spicer enjoyed coaching baseball and officiating football. He loved cars, traveling, concerts, sporting events and flying.

He was a past president of the Mason City School Board and was a member of Knights of Columbus Council 5677.

He is survived by his wife, Laura; children Brian and Ashley; parents Mary Ann Hustad and Gene Spicer; and siblings Val Carmody and Melissa Spicer.

Interment for Spicer is at the Linwood Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Arrangements are by Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home in Cedar Rapids.

Pulkrabek said the Johnson County Sheriff's Office and medical examiner are continuing to assist the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board in investigating the cause of the crash, which remained unknown as of Sunday.

On Friday, Sgt. Brad Kunkel of the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, said the plane took off from the Green Castle Airport, 2154 250th ST. NW, Oxford. The plane was on fire when authorities arrived at the scene at 2383 IWV Road SW.