The pen next to Plane Jane’s restaurant is empty, and the welcoming “honk!” of Ace, Plymouth Municipal Airport’s mascot, can no longer be heard.

The pen next to Plane Jane’s restaurant is empty, and the welcoming “honk!” of Ace, Plymouth Municipal Airport’s mascot, can no longer be heard.

For nearly 20 years, this white goose has been a fixture here, and diners and pilots alike have handed leftovers through the fence into Ace’s happy beak. This super goose had already outlived most of her kind by more than five years, thanks to the tender loving care of airport personnel like Plymouth Municipal Airport Lineman Michael Landers, who fed her and chatted with her daily.

The heated pool, the little goose house, a mirror and a steady, daily stream of fans helped keep this goose warm, happy and entertained.

Sadly, after two decades of fun, and even surviving a recent lightning strike, Ace the goose died Thursday.

Did that say “she?”

Uh, yes, a veterinarian has confirmed that the airport mascot was a she and not a he as previously assumed.

“I really will miss Ace,” Plymouth Municipal Airport Manager Tom Maher said. “She was such a fixture at the airport and was loved by a lot of people who would come to visit her on a very regular basis.”

Landers was equally saddened by the news.

“She’ll be badly missed by patrons of the restaurant and all of us who work here,” Lander said. “I don’t think they’re going to replace her. Of course, I’ll miss her a lot. She was my pal, you know.”

Ace survived a lightning strike June 22, but seemed to be recovering nicely when she showed signs of failing health this week. The white goose was having difficulty walking and some witnesses reported seeing blood coming from one of her nostrils.

Since the lightning strike, Ace appeared to have lost sight in one of her eyes, but Maher said she was eating well right up till Plymouth Municipal Airport Office Manager Jeanette White took the ailing goose to South Weymouth’s New England Wildlife Center early this week.

A veterinarian from the center notified Maher Thursday that Ace had died, and continually referred to the goose as “she,” eliminating, once and for all, any confusion about her gender.

Maher said the airport will erect a plaque in Ace’s memory in or near the enclosure where the goose lived. One of Ace’s fans has written a poem about the beloved bird, and there may be more dedications to come.

Ace had already been an institution at the airport for two years when Tom Maher was hired as airport manager 17 years ago. During his first interview, he asked for the number of airport employees.

“Walter Morrison said ‘Seven employees and a goose.’ And I said ‘And a goose?’ ” Maher explained.

No one knows how old Ace was when she appeared at Plymouth Municipal Airport nearly 20 years ago. Her clipped wings indicated she was a domesticated bird that had been abandoned, and airport operations personnel took her under their wings and created a roomy enclosure for her next to Plane Jane’s and the fuel pumps. A heated pool, a mirror for her to honk at, plenty of food and a constant stream of visitors transformed this goose into a star attraction.