The Canby pilot who died in a Southwest Washington plane crash Sunday was an avid flyer, award-winning author and board member for the Oregon Department of Aviation.

Mary Rosenblum, 65, was a "passionate advocate for pilots and airports and played a significant role in Oregon aviation," said the state's aviation department.

Rosenblum was flying a Piper Super Cub plane when she hit trees around 1 p.m. and crashed near Battle Ground, the Clark County Sheriff's Office said. She was the only person found in the damaged plane and died at the scene near Daybreak Field.

She and a friend in a separate aircraft had flown to other locations earlier in the day and meant to stop at Daybreak Field, according to the sheriff's office.

Her friend did not see what caused Rosenblum's tail-dragger style plane to crash. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Nathan Rosenblum, the pilot's son, said the family declines comment.

Mary Rosenblum received her private pilot's license in June 2010, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. She was once the president of the Oregon Pilots Association and at the time was one of the few female pilots in the state. In 2012, she told The Oregonian/OregonLive that women made up 10 percent of pilots in the Oregon Pilots Association.

At the time, Rosenblum said she'd logged 600 flight hours. She bought a plane while still a student pilot.

The poetry of aviation from a Troutdale pilot 11 Gallery: The poetry of aviation from a Troutdale pilot

In a blog post for "Ladies Love Taildraggers," Mary Rosenblum described her plane, which she identified as a PA-18 Supercub, as her dream aircraft in that style.

"I started flying after my kids were out on their own -- I was a single mom -- and found I love flying into the back country most of all," the post read.

On her website, Rosenblum described herself as a dog trainer, gardener, cheesemaker, writing teacher and web editor. She also went into biomedical research after graduating from Reed College in 1975.

She wrote nine novels over her career, including The Drylands, which won the Compton Crook Award for science fiction writing in 1994. She wrote mysteries under the name Mary Freeman.

Cat Rambo, president of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, said Rosenblum was a "one of the vital components of our Pacific Northwest writing community.

"Self-reliant, pragmatic and incisive, she could butcher a sheep or make cheese as easily as she could write a story that showed a depth of human understanding many of us work a lifetime to achieve," Rambo said in a statement. "She will be deeply, dearly, heartbreakingly missed."

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey