Zsigmond Moses Vincze, 95, Overland Park, Kan., passed away Sunday. Zsigmond was the son of Louis and Julia Vincze of Zelienople. At Zelienople High School, Zsig lettered in football and basketball and was a member of the National Honor Society.
He was the first licensed flight engineer and flew for Trans World Airlines.
During World War II, he flew the Boeing Stratoliner and the Douglas DC-4 in the Air Transport Command and met the king and queen of England.
He delivered Norden bombsights to defeat the Axis powers.
He was council chairman of the Flight Engineers Union and was an early advocate for scheduling and safety. He thwarted a hijacking of an airliner en route to New York. He owned private airplanes and often flew between New York, Washington and Pittsburgh.
He appeared in a series of advertisements for the Hudson automobile. He was co-president of the U.S. Air Force Academy Parents Club of Long Island with his wife, Michelena.
Zsig married Michelena Witkowski in 1954 and built his house entirely by himself in Old Westbury, N.Y.
He loved gardening, trips to the beach and snow skiing. He lived through an exciting age of flying from working on DC-3s to flying the Constellation and the 747.