Nicola Vaccari may have been born and raised in Italy, trained with NATO in Canada and spent time parking celebrities' cars in Beverly Hills, but for more than 50 years the man known as Northeast Arkansas' "Grandfather of Aviation" made his home in Walnut Ridge. Vaccari, who passed away Feb. 10 at the age of 88, began his aviation career as a member of the Italian Air Force.

"One day him and a buddy were walking down the street, and they see a flier for pilot positions with the Italian Air Force," his son Neil said. His buddy said, 'Hey Nick, why don't you go with me? I don't want to go by myself to this interview.'" Vaccari was selected for the air force and was one of 18 selected to serve as a NATO pilot. He spent the next two years training in Canada before coming back to Italy in 1952, the Jonesboro Sun (http://bit.ly/2lk06V6 ) reported.