Sig Wien, 91, Alaskan Pioneer Aviator

FAIRBANKS - Sig Wien, a quiet man who helped make the name Wien the most famous in Alaska aviation, has died at age 91.

The last of the Wien brothers who founded Wien Air Alaska, he will be remembered as the first pilot to provide air service to northern Alaska communities such as Point Lay, Wainwright and Barrow more than 50 years ago.

The late journalist Kay Kennedy wrote that Mr. Wien was at home in the Inupiat Eskimo villages he served.

"There was a natural affinity between Sigurd and the Eskimos," Kennedy wrote. "He thought in a direct line like they did. He was short on words but long on performance. They understood that. Sometimes it seemed that there was a mental communication that didn't need words."

Mr. Wien, who died Friday, gave up flying about 20 years ago because of his age. He was an active Jehovah's Witness and regularly went on trips to the bush on behalf of the church.

Mr. Wien was born in 1903 in Wisconsin and came to Alaska in 1930 to join his brothers Noel, Ralph and Fritz, who all worked as pilots or mechanics.

In 1940, he became president and general manager of Wien Air Alaska and held those positions for 30 years. In 1969, he became chairman of the board and oversaw the airline's development into the jet age before his retirement. The airline was shut down in the mid 1980s.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah, and his daughter, Kendra

Wien.