WC/RW/NWA Capt. Captain Ben K. Aspen

~ IN MEMORY ~

Military veteran, WC/RW/NWA Capt. Captain Ben K. Aspen

September 12, 1927 ~ August 20, 2019

Notification with the passing of retired West Coast/Hughes AirWest/Northwest pilot Captain Benjamin Kenneth Aspen, age 91.  Captain Aspen first joined West Coast Airlines 09-25-1952, made the various mergers, and retired with Northwest Airlines.  He is survived by his wife Barbara.

To view the obituary and sign the online guestbook please visit

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=ben-k-aspen&pid=193848712

A celebration of life will be held at the Seattle Yacht Club on September 17th from 1:00-3:00 PM.

Location:  Seattle Yacht Club,  1807 East Hamlin Street, Seattle WA 98112.

For those wishing to send a personal note, whitepages lists the Aspen residence as

1900 Alaskan Way Apt 207 ,  Seattle WA 98101-1065

Thank you,

~ Carol for the PCN 

Obituary…………… Captain Ben K. Aspen

Ben was born and died in Seattle's Swedish Hospital just shy of his 92nd birthday. He was the son of Norwegian immigrants, Ben and Borghild Aspen and big brother to sister, Marilyn. He is survived by his wife of 67 years Barbara, sister Marilyn Wilkins, daughter Ann (Chris), son Gib (Liz) and 2 grandsons, Stefan and Nigel who dearly loved their "FarFar".

A pivotal life event for Ben was spending his 7th and 8th year in Alesund, Norway with his mother and young sister while his father was plying Alaskan waters as a ship captain for Alaska Steamship Company.

He was captivated by Charles Lindbergh at a young age and pursued his love of aviation. Ben served in the Marines where he flew domestically. Then he became a commercial airline pilot for West Coast Airlines ultimately retiring as a Captain from Northwest Airlines after 37 years of service.

Ben also loved the water, spending time with his family on Puget Sound, living in Gig Harbor, Kauai Hawaii and finally on the Seattle waterfront. Ben and Barbara also loved Priest Lake Idaho where he built their family cabin. The hills surrounding the lake always reminded him of the fjords in Norway. Ben and Barbara also traveled the world together often with family and friends.

He was kind, fair and his sense of humor and zest for life knew no bounds. If everyone lived on his wavelength the world would be a better place. May the legacy of FarFar live on.

A celebration of life will be held at the Seattle Yacht Club on Tuesday, September 17th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

The Seattle Yacht Club is located at 1807 East Hamlin Street, Seattle WA 98112.

In lieu of flowers please send remembrance's to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.