Joe Soloy
One of the great helicopter pioneers died last weekend.
He achieved many things in his lifetime and was always a very entertaining individual. In addition to his personal achievements (and they were many and varied), as a pilot, mechanic, designer and businessman, he was also the first engineer to ever work for Alan Bristow.
Condolences to his family - he will be well remembered.
From the Olympian
Joe Ivar Soloy
Joe Ivar Soloy was born August 27, 1925 in Bengaugh, Saskatchewan to Norwegian immigrant parents. He was raised in Kent, Washington where his independence was nurtured by his rural surroundings. While he always identified with his Norwegian roots, his allegiance and his pride was in being an American. He served his country in WWII as a radar man on a Coast Guard frigate in the Aleutian Islands.
After the war, he returned to Kent to marry his high school sweetheart, Phyllis Adele Speck. Fascinated since childhood with flight, he earned his wings in airplanes and later helicopters. His intelligence, idealism, and imagination drove him to blaze new trails in several frontiers from the Antarctic to the Arctic, many of those years flying in the bush in Alaska. He started Soloy Corporation in 1970 to bring to reality some of his many ideas for better aircraft. He has remained as Chairman of the Board of Soloy Corporation until his death on Sunday, February 1st, 2004.
Joe's recognition as a Pathfinder at the Boeing Museum of Flight is but one of many honors bestowed upon him as a result of accomplishments in the aircraft industry. As recently as December 2003, he was inducted into the National Agricultural Aviation Association Hall of Fame for his contributions to the industry.
Joe's flight pioneering and business accomplishments are recognized internationally, but to his family he was first and foremost a loving husband, father, and grandfather. His legacy of love is what we most treasure. He is survived by the love of his life, wife of 57 years, Phyllis Adele Speck Soloy, his three children Patty Soloy, Chris Soloy, and Jan Soloy and his six beloved grandchildren Jesse, Mariah, Lindsey, Evan, Matthew and Samuel.
A memorial service for Joe will be held at 1pm Saturday, Feb. 7 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Chehalis. Memorial contributions may be made to the Joe I. Soloy Memorial Fund at Children's Orthopedic Hospital, P.O. Box 50020, Mail Stop 5200, Seattle, WA 98145-5020.