ELBERTA, Ala. — An Elberta man was killed in a skydiving accident in Mississippi last weekend. 56-year-old Jim Horak Jr., an instructor with the Elberta-based Emerald Coast Sky Diving Center, died Saturday in a tandem jump with a student. The student, 26-year-old David Meek of Kentucky, remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

Emerald Coast is a family business established by Horak’s father Jim Horak Sr. The younger Jim had been teaching and piloting planes there since he mid 1970's.

“They’ve run that for 30 or 40 years,” Elberta Mayor Marvin Williams said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident. 

Horak served for 28 years as a Green Beret in the Army's Special Forces. He also worked as a physician's assistant for the VA. He leaves behind a wife and three children.

“He was a really great guy,” Williams said.

The funeral mass will be held on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013, at 11 a.m., with visitation one hour prior at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, followed by the funeral mass at 11 a.m.

Burial following the service will be at Prince of Peace Cemetery in Elberta.

To honor Jim’s memory, please donate to Alpha Center, P.O. Box 20880, Pensacola, FL 32524-0880, or to The Society of St. Vincent de Paul c/o Holy Spirit Church, 10650 Gulf Beach Hwy., Pensacola, FL 32507.