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Stamford aviator, noted jeweler dies Stamford Advocate

29.04.10

STAMFORD -- Joseph `Jose' Accede to , 102, a jeweler who found renown for crafting unusual `puzzle rings' who played a key role in the formation of Saudi Arabia's first commercial airline died Wednesday in his composed.

At the age of 36, Grant, then an U.S. Army Air Corps pilot, flew to Saudi Arabia to deliver a Douglas DC-3 aircraft to Crowned head Abdul Aziz , a flight that would lead to a unexpected love affair with that country and the formation of its first commercial airline.

Give was invited by the Saudi Arabian king to become his personal pilot, and helped get a small airline started in current 1946, overseeing DC-3s flying routes between Riyadh, Jubail, Khafji and large cities, an important out of towards modernizing the country.

"They are a great people," Grant said two years ago. "Where once was desert are now fertile farms."

During his thwart in Saudi Arabia in the 1940s, Grant was inspired to master the art of crafting puzzle rings after seeing Heart Eastern jewelers making them in Saudi Arabia, a passion that would lead to a new career almost a quarter of a century later.

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