She flew her Cessna 206 on a 140-mile round trip weekly for more than 20 years, delivering mail and supplies to the small community of Skwentna. In between those runs, she made numerous charter and personal flights around Alaska and outside the state.
"She was a real friendly person that got along with everybody. She did us a lot of favors other than just carrying the mail," said Joe Delia, 77, who has been the postmaster in Skwentna for 30 years. "I regretted that I never got to hear her play the violin. I always wanted to hear her play."
A violinist since age 9, Jefford launched her Anchorage orchestra career in 1946 and played until the early 1980s. She stopped because of arthritis, said Tom Payton, a longtime friend.
Frank Pinkerton, who conducted the orchestra in the 1960s, said the violin was on "an equal basis" with the plane.
"She loved to play and she loved to fly," he said.
Last year Jefford was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, created by the FAA to honor Alaskans who have flown safely for at least 50 years. At 82, she made her last solo flight, to Nebraska for a class reunion, Payton said.
Jefford also enjoyed riding motorcycles and sailing. She was in her mid-80s when she made her last sailing voyage, from Seattle to Seldovia.
