Wayne Wiesner
July 5, 1916 - December 6, 2007
Obituary
Wayne Wiesner,
Wayne Wiesner, rotary wing expert, died peacefully at home on December 6th, 2007. Wayne was born in Silverton, Oregon on July 5th, 1916. He graduated from Oregon State University in 1940 and subsequently received advanced degrees from New York University, Stanford, and UCLA. During his career he worked for Kellet Autogyro Corp., Hiller Aircraft and Boeing, including Vertol’s Helicopter Research Dept. He lectured at Stanford and published several papers on rotary wing structures and wind energy technology.
His work spanned 15 helicopters, 3 autogryros and 3 wind turbines. He was an expert in his field and consulted with NASA and various agencies even after his retirement. He received many awards highlighted by the prestigious Dr. Alexander Klemin award in 1982 for notable achievement in advancement of rotary-wing aeronautics.
Wayne had a great mind and a wry sense of humor. In his latter years he became acutely interested in the theories of physics that drive this universe and potentially others. He would spend hours talking to those who had the mind to, about the fundamental forces that forged our existence as we know it. He hoped he might see the day that the grand theories could be unified.
He is survived by his most remarkable wife of 67 years, Janet, his sister, Marylou McKee, children Elizabeth, Don and Richard and four grandchildren.
He was a member of honorary societies Tau Beta Pi; Pi Mu Epsilon, Sigma Zi; and Phi Kappa Phi. He was a founding member of the American Helicopter Society and an Associate Fellow of the AIAA. He loved fishing, economics, and writing poetry. While in the National Guard he became an expert marksman which led to a hobby of collecting rare guns, his favorites dating back to the American Revolution. He loved to golf and was a member Meridian Valley Country Club.
He will be missed by all who knew him. Anytime you see a helicopter save someone’s life, think of Wayne Wiesner.
Memorials can be mailed to the Oregon State University Foundation, College of Engineering, 850 SW 35th St., Corvalis, OR 97333 or can be given through their website at https://osufoundation.org/giving/online_gift.shtml. Please mark in memory of Wayne Wiesner.
For me, Wayne was “Jan’s husband.” I met Jan when working in Tukwila in about 1982. I don’t remember the first time I met Wayne, but it likely was when I went to visit their home for the first time. He always had a sense of humor and something admirable to say about January I visited them late last year, and Wayne was dignified and cared deeply about Jan and his family to the end.
I got to know Wayne when he came to Boeing to work for George Schairer in the Product Research Organization. Boeing had just bought Vertol, and Wayne was brought aboard as the resident helicopter expert. We never worked an a program together, but we remained good friends throughout our respective Boeing careers. He always was my source of information about rotary wings—a truly great engineer.