Steven Clay was married for three weeks. On March 16, he and Nikki were wed. Richard "Dick" Crow was married 58 years to his wife, Charlene.

Wednesday, the men's tragic deaths robbed both wives of their husbands, left crowds of family members and friends in grief and elicited an outpouring of memories and support from the local community.

People remembered one man for his vision to transform the Bay Area's buildings and economy and the other for his comprehensive skill as an aviator.

Both died on a business trip to Grants Pass Wednesday, when their Cessna 207 crashed for unknown reasons into a mountain near Merlin.

Clay, 54, was a principal partner of Crow/Clay & Associates. A successful professional, Clay was remembered by his friends as a man whose talent with architecture is exhibited across the Bay Area, from North Bend High School, where he assisted in designing the technology building, to the Coos Bay Boardwalk he co-designed.

"He saw the potential for historic renovation of downtown before any of us," said Coos Bay City Manager Bill Grile, who has known Clay since the 1970s.

Avid about the area's past, Clay took the time to lead walking tours through historic neighborhoods, including the city's downtown core.

"He was heavily, heavily involved for the positive redevelopment downtown," Grile said.

Near the same time Clay was helping co-design the Coos Bay Boardwalk and City Docks in the early 1990s, his firm also renovated the Hub building in Coos Bay, where Crow/Clay eventually established its main office. The historic building now houses several company offices, including those of the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay.

Martin Callery, the port's communications director, relayed the personal relationship formed by working one floor down from Clay, but also remembered how impressed he was with Clay's passion for keeping the area's history intact.

"They took the Hub building and renovated it," Callery said. "Sometimes old and restored is better than new and shiny. You look at the quality and keeping a landmark that old-time Coos Bay area residents have noted for years."

Dick Crow, 75, father of Clay's business partner Mike Crow, was remembered as equally successful in his field of aviation. Crow had more than 50 years' experience as a pilot and about 40 years as a commercial aviator. He lived for many years in Alaska, where he served as a commercial pilot before moving to the Lakeside area in the 1990s.

Crow is survived by his sons Mike, of North Bend and Richard Jr., of Anchorage, Alaska; and daughter, Susan Yarborough, of St. Louis, Mo.

Jason Altseimer, a pilot for Menasha Forest Products who helped search for the missing plane, knew Crow as a successful pilot.

Altseimer, a Vietnam veteran who began flying in 1968, usually parked his plane near Crow's at the North Bend Municipal Airport and they shared coffee and stories.

"We used to sit out there during the weekend and tell airplane stories," Altseimer said. "I understand he's flown just about everything that was ever built. He had many, many aviation experiences and was very qualified."

Clay also was an avid supporter of the airport and recognized its contribution to economic development.

Marshfield High School Principal Arnie Roblan, who co-chaired a private business development group with Clay, remembered the architect for his unheralded contributions.

"He did the things not always out front but behind the scenes as well," Roblan said.

"Steve had a vision about developing our community and making it a wonderful place to raise kids," Roblan said.

Both worked on the campaign to develop the original airport district using the Port of Coos Bay's boundaries. The campaign succeeded and voters passed a five-year tax levy to help fund the airport.

Clay also served on the Coos Bay Planning Commission since 1978. Commissioner Jeff Marineau, who worked by his side for more than a decade, re-membered Clay as a professional for the way he endured and went about the job.

"He always had an opinion, whether I agreed with him or not, about our community and cared a great deal about how Coos Bay and the area in general looked," Marineau said.

Ken Harlan, a planning commissioner from 1994 to 1998, said Clay took incoming members under his direction and helped guide them.

"He was a mentor and a real friend to incoming planning commissioner," Harlan said.

Crow's surviving son, Mike, and Steve Clay operated a successful architecture and planning company, setting up offices in Coos Bay, Portland and Eureka, Calif. Crow was recently elected to serve on the Coos County Airport District Board.

In addition to his wife, Clay is survived by a son, Corrigan, 24. He lost a son, Cameron, in 1994.

Friends and family have continued to gather at the company's offices inside the Hub building in downtown Coos Bay to privately grieve the loss. The firm and the families said they were not ready to release any information.

"They just need to deal with the tragedy," said a close friend of the family.