Sad news
"You can't be a success if you don't love people."
Paul Poberezny came from humble beginnings, yet he created one of the world largest aviation organizations and emerged as one of the 20th century's greatest aviation leaders, creating a worldwide aviation organization and the world's largest annual fly-in event, EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
He died on August 22, 2013, in Oshkosh after a career that spanned more than 70 years of flight at the controls of more than 500 different types of aircraft.
Paul is survived by his wife, Audrey; one son, Tom (Sharon) Poberezny of Brookfield, Wisconsin; one daughter, Bonnie (Chuck) Parnall of Oshkosh; two granddaughters, Audra (Michael) Hoy of Oshkosh and Lesley Poberezny of Brookfield, Wisconsin; and one great-granddaughter born in 2012, Charlotte "Charley" Hoy.
Paul Poberezny often said that there was not a day that went by that he didn't say the word "airplane." His flight experiences began as a high school student and continued through service in World War II and the Korean conflict. Between the wars, he began his hands-on approach to aircraft design and building that would direct his future and his legacy.
http://www.eaa.org/paul/In January 1953, he organized about three dozen aircraft builders and restorers in a local Milwaukee, Wisconsin, club that was named the Experimental Aircraft Association. Later that year, the first EAA fly-in gathering formed the foundation of what has become EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Paul Poberezny's life and career was a shining example of vision, self-reliance, and leadership. He is regarded as one of the individual giants of aviation’s first century, with an influence that reaches beyond a single flying accomplishment to affecting tens of thousands of people who have dreamed of flying. This site is a small glimpse of the man who will forever be connected with the personal freedom of flight.
