John F. Throne, 78, Pioneer In The Aviation-Insurance Field

John F. Throne, a pioneer in aviation insurance, was a businessman who had a talent for finding customers in all the right places.

It wasn't mere coincidence, then, that he wrote policies for clients in Palm Springs and San Diego, Calif., where he just happened to love the weather, or Missoula, Mont., where great fly fishing abounds.

``Dad had a real knack for finding business where he liked to go,'' said his son, R. Michael Throne, president of the company his father founded nearly 40 years ago.

John Throne, 78, died last week in Seattle. But even up to his death he remained active in John F. Throne & Co. as a consultant and chairman of the board.

That small company he started has become the largest Seattle firm specializing in aviation insurance and is one of the largest aviation-brokerage companies in the country.

A native of Roseburg, Ore., Throne began his insurance career with Hansen & Rowland in Tacoma in 1939. He moved to D.K. MacDonald in Seattle in 1941, where he established the firm's aviation department. In 1946 he was appointed Pacific Northwest manager for the newly opened offices of U.S. Aviation Underwriters Inc., aviation managers for the U.S. Aircraft Insurance Group, the largest aviation insurer in the world.

When USIAG closed its Seattle office, Throne joined Robert O. Fleming & Co., and developed aviation insurance for the firm. In 1951, he opened his own brokerage company, the first aviation-related agency on the West Coast.

Gwin Hicks, a retired airline president, remembers the days in the 1930s and 1940s when aviation was in its infancy and financing and insurance were difficult to obtain. Throne went from hangar to hangar grooming policies for the new industry.

``He was an unsung hero in my estimation,'' said Hicks. ``He was honest John, a broker in the middle who did us a very great service.''

Even during World War II, when big companies took over much of the aviation-insurance business, Throne persevered with his dedicated customers.

``His reputation was impeccable,'' said Hicks. ``If John Throne recommended a company, it was like putting it in the bank. His word was that good.''

A memorial service for Throne will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Church of The Ascension, 2330 Viewmont Way West. Burial will be in Roseburg, Ore.

In addition to his son, Throne is survived by his wife, Frances, and another son, John F. Throne II of Albuquerque, N.M.