William Durlin wasn't about to let a little thing like major surgery derail his plans for a much-anticipated three-week cruise to the Arctic Circle, followed by a two- week stay in Germany.

After all, the longtime airline executive and co-founder of the new Frontier Airlines had spent a lifetime traveling and was proud of the fact that he'd visited 55 countries. And he'd always wanted to see Iceland, to see real icebergs.

"He got his wish," said Barbara Durlin, his wife and traveling companion of 31 years.

Surgery a month before the Durlins departed for their trip had left him weak, but he insisted he could rest aboard ship. He died in his sleep Aug. 1 as the ship sailed between Greenland and Iceland. He was 82.

Mr. Durlin, born in Denver on May 17, 1926, graduated from Manual High School. He joined the Merchant Marine during World War II and also spent two years in the Army.

Upon his return to civilian life, he took a job doing aircraft maintenance for the old Frontier Airlines. Despite lacking a college degree, he mastered the science of aeronautical engineering. When the airline went out of business, he had risen to the position of vice president.

He worked for United Airlines for a time, then became senior vice president for Hawaiian Airlines.

It was after his second retirement from the airline industry that he returned to Denver and was eventually enticed back for one more go with an airline. Mr. Durlin was one of 10 former airline executives who sat around Sam Addoms' dining room table one day in 1993 and mapped out a strategy to rebirth the iconic Denver-based airline.

"I didn't know anything about airlines," said Addoms, former CEO at Frontier. "Bill undertook my education as a neophyte. A lot of what goes on within an airline has a lot to do with the engineering and maintenance functions that he knew so well. I imagine we spent the equivalent of a whole year helping me to understand all the details of the airline. Bill and three or four others like him made it possible for me to function. I wouldn't have been able to do it without him.

"He cared deeply about doing things well and correctly, which is a great comfort when it comes to running an airline. In Bill, we had someone who was scrupulously careful."

"The reason he kept going back," said his stepson, Steven Holcomb, of Broomfield, "was that he just loved travel. He wasn't a golfer, and he didn't really have hobbies. It just took a lot to keep him occupied."

Mr. Durlin retired from the airline business for good in 2001.

Mr. Durlin was married and had five children. He and his first wife divorced. He met his second wife, an executive secretary at Frontier, when both joined the Frontier Airlines bowling team.

Later, Barbara Durlin opened a travel agency in Denver. "He had the airline passes, and she had the packages because of her travel agency," Holcomb said. "So they had a wonderful life of travel and exploring other countries."

For his 80th birthday, Mr. Durlin treated all his children, stepchildren and their spouses to a two-week trip in Europe. "He wanted to show them Europe because they were not all financially able to do it on their own," Barbara Durlin said. "He said, 'I could take this money and buy a Jaguar, but why? A Jaguar would wear out, but this way we're giving our kids memories that will last forever.' "

"He was one of those people whom everybody loved," his wife said. "He always had a kind word for everybody."

In addition to his wife, who lives in Golden, and his stepson, Mr. Durlin is survived by seven other children and stepchildren: Judy Lee, of Denver; Joan Davis, of Mena, Ark.; John Durlin, of Oklahoma City; Jeanne Fields, of Fort Morgan; Janet Scofield, of Colorado Springs; Kathy Walters, of Greeley; and Kristi Yowell, of Dallas. He also is survived by a brother, Eugene Durlin, of Denver; 13 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and two great-great- grandchildren.