Allen B. Dorsey had every reason to be proud: He was a champion skier and track star, an ace pilot and commercial fisherman, and a steward of the environment even when building a family home.
He counted every tree, taking only the wood he absolutely needed. Yet this real-estate entrepreneur with the impish brown eyes "never tooted his own horn."
He was so modest that only after his death in a mid-air collision Friday in Alaska did his family learn he also weekly visited a mentally retarded person whom neighbors shunned.
"Allen lived life like he wanted," said family friend Sue Anderson, "yet often thought of others before himself. He did more in his 33 years than most of us will do in a lifetime."
She said he did things 100 percent, which is why he died as he did: The single-engine Cessna he was using to spot salmon for some fishermen was hit from behind.
Born in Duluth, Minn., Mr. Dorsey moved with his family to Bainbridge Island, where he graduated from Bainbridge High School.
He played as an All-Seamount League running back, starred in the state track finals, and was a grand slalom ski finalist in the Chilean National Championships.
The son of an airline pilot, he earned his pilot's license at age 16 - the earliest allowable age.
He attended Eastern Washington University and Whitman College, participating on the latter's national- champion ski team.
One of his mother Nancy Dorsey's favorite stories concerns a gift he persuaded his brothers into giving with him:
"I'd had a couple of bad years. Then the boys came downtown one day, got me out of my office, and sat me down behind the wheel of a brand-new red Mustang convertible.
"He said, 'Mom, whenever you sit behind that wheel, you'll know you have three men who love you.'"
Mr. Dorsey's other survivors include his wife, Heidi Dorsey, and children Molly and James Dorsey, all of Port Ludlow, Jefferson County; parents Jim and Nancy Dorsey, Bainbridge Island; and brothers Jeff Dorsey, Seattle, and Pat Dorsey, Waterford, Mich.
Services are 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church on High School Road, Bainbridge Island.
Remembrances may be made to the Allen Dorsey Memorial Fund c/o Customer Service, American Marine Bank, P.O. Box 10788, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.