KTKA

The 32nd annual Huff and Puff Balloon Rally isn't the same for Nancy Goodnow, her family, and area balloon enthusiasts without her husband, Jerry.

"What you see out here tonight, he helped build Huff and Puff," said Karl Fruendt, Rally Coordinator. "He helped build hot air ballooning in Northeast Kansas."

"Our time is coming for all of us," said Nancy, Jerry's wife. "His just came a little earlier then we would've wished."

In December, the ballooning family lost its pioneer to cancer.

But through his more 30 years of passion for the sport, his legacy lives on through his son Tony, who now flies his father's balloon, Hocus Pocus.

Tony says his dad taught him how to fly at age 14, and that it was his father's wish for him to get his license.

"He ended up passing away before I actually got it but I've got it and I feel better having it and I know he knows that I've got it," he said.

The Huff and Puff Balloon Rally attracts more than 10,000 people each year.

And though their loved one is gone, this family says there is no place they'd rather be.

"This is what he loved to do and I think it would bother him if we weren't out here," Tony said.

The Huff 'n Puff Balloon Rally goes on all weekend at Lake Shawnee. All of the proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House.