Family of late Air Force pilot gets a Christmas surprise

The Fresno family of a U.S. Air Force pilot who recently died in a crash were surprised this week by a group of caring residents who offered some Christmas cheer.

The family of Lt. Col. Seth “Jethro” Nehring had their home decorated for the holidays on Tuesday. The lighting and decorations were a surprise, created Tuesday afternoon and revealed to Nehring’s family when they returned home after dark.

Nehring died in a flight with a Ukrainian pilot two weeks ago during a joint operations mission in Ukraine. He was an F-15 fighter pilot with the 144th Fighter Wing, Fresno Air National Guard who attended Tarpey Elementary and graduated from Clovis High.

L. C. Kaylor, of Kaylor Landscape, who set up the Christmas display, which included illuminated red, white and blue Christmas trees and American flags, thanked Julie Smith, Nehring’s mother. “I just want to thank you for rearing an amazing young man who served his country,” Kaylor said. “We’re just trying to do what we can to help out with some decorating.”

Smith said when she first approached her home, she thought it was her neighbor’s house because of all the colorful lights. “Then I realized they are not on the neighbor’s house, they are on my house,” she laughed. “And then I realized how many of them there were. So, it was pretty surprising.”

The Ukrainian pilot who died was Col. Ivan Petrenko, Deputy Commander of the East Air, Chief of Aviation from Ozern Air Base, Zhytomer, Ukraine.

This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Family of late Air Force pilot gets a Christmas surprise."