DONALD VENT

Donald Ernest Vent, 72, died Oct. 3, 2001 in Wasilla. A memorial service was conducted at 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 8, at Valley Funeral Home, 151 E. Herning Ave., in Wasilla. Another memorial service will be held at a later date this month in Yakutat.

Mr. Vent was born Nov. 1, 1928, in Anvik. He attended Sheldon Jackson High School in Sitka. Mr. Vent also attended Aviation School in Spokane, Wash., and airplane and power plant mechanic school in the Merchant Marines.

He served in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict.

Mr. Vent was a resident of Wasilla and a former resident of Huslia, Galena, Sitka, Yakutat, and Anchorage.

He worked as a bush pilot, a FAA-NTSB aviation safety inspector, and as an airplane and power plant mechanic.

Mr. Vent received various awards during his life, including the FAA Search and Rescue Medal for Heroism in 1975 and the Yakutat Aviators Hall of Fame in 2001. He represented aviation at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

He enjoyed flying, fishing, hunting, guiding, cooking, spending time with grandchildren, visiting with friends, and late-night phone calls to friends and family throughout Alaska.

His family said: "Donald 'Butch' Vent was loved and will be missed dearly by his family and friends throughout Alaska. Butch was a very devoted father and grandfather. He loved flying, chatting on the phone with friends and relatives, and boy, did he have some high phone bills."

Survivors include daughters, Theresa Vent of Anchorage, Charmaine Pattison and husband, Scott, of Wasilla, and Mischelle Kitter and husband, Eric, of Wasilla; son, Albert Porter of Juneau; former wife and lifelong friend, Sandy Vent of Sitka; grandchildren, Crystal Vent of Anchorage, Wesley Vent of Anchorage, Gerald Vent of Eagle River, Michael Martin of Wasilla, Christopher Meltvedt of Wasilla, Myles Pattison of Wasilla, Jade and Damari of Anchorage and Little Albert Porter of Yakutat; brother, Bobby Vent and wife, Mary, of Huslia; and numerous relatives throughout the interior of Alaska.