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Former pathology faculty member, Dr. Sterling Ainsworth, dies Dr. Sterling K. Ainsworth, of Lyons, died in a private plane crash Tuesday, Aug. 9 in Sundry, Alberta. He was 65.   The son of Floyd M. Ainsworth and Lois L. Miller Ainsworth, he was born Oct. 23, 1939, in Meridian, Miss. He married Phyllis Beckmann on Jan. 13, 1960, in Meridian. They divorced.   Dr. Ainsworth moved to Boulder County in 1991.   He earned a doctoral degree from the University of Mississippi and a medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical School. He also received a Canadian Sir Izaak Walton Killam Fellowship, a University of Alberta School of Medicine Fellowship and a Harvard Medical Research Fellowship.   He worked for 40 years in the field of medical research, holding positions at the Alberta School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Shanghai Second Medical University and MUSC. Dr. Ainsworth was a faculty member of the MUSC Department of Pathology.   He was founder and former chairman, president and CEO of NaPro Biotherapeutics in Boulder; co-founder, chairman and CEO of Phoenix Fire Systems in Longmont; co-founder, chairman and CEO of Advanced Building and Development in Longmont; and co-founder, chairman and CEO for AZOS AI in Boulder.   He spent his career in the fight against cancer and was a significant contributor to the development of the cancer drug, Taxol.   A fellow with The Explorer’s Club, Dr. Ainsworth received two Governor’s Awards for contributions to physical fitness for South Carolinians and for founding the South Carolina Palmetto State Games.   He was a member of Safari Club International, the Aircraft Owner’s and Pilot’s Association and the Experimental Aircraft Association.   Dr. Ainsworth enjoyed flying, big game hunting, fishing, mountain climbing, scuba diving and entrepreneurship.   He was “a wonderful and extraordinary man who lived life to its fullest and enjoyed his days on this Earth,” his family said. “He died doing what he loved, flying his airplane on a fishing trip to Alaska. His accomplishments are many, but they pale in comparison to the man who loved his family and friends so much.”   Survivors include his fiancée, Patricia Pilia, of Longmont; a son, Sterling Ainsworth Jr., of McLean, Va.; a sister, Martha Moore, of Tallahassee, Fla.; a brother, Elmer Ainsworth, of Daleville, Miss.; and one grandson.   He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Floyd Ainsworth Jr. and James Ainsworth.   Contributions in Dr. Ainsworth’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org, or P.O. Box 102454, Atlanta, Ga., 30368-2454; or to the Experimental Aircraft Association/Young Eagles, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wis., 54903-3086.     Friday, Sept. 2, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.