In Memorium: Richard Merritt Downey

Richard Merritt Downey passed away on June 28, 2000. Richard was born in Wabash, Indiana, on July 5, 1917, to Ira Merritt Downey and his wife Ethel. Richard had an older sister, Augusta. Ethel (maiden name Ethel Bent) tragically died in childbirth with Richard. Ira, unable to raise his family on his own, recruited the help of Ethel’s sister, Lucy Bent Mills, and it was Aunt Lucy who served as the maternal figure in Richard’s early years. Ira went on to marry Lucille Adams of Wabash and Richard acquired a stepmother. Here are Lucile and Ira circa 1965 just prior to Ira's death. Richard went to Indiana University during the depression years, and he helped fund his education as a bandleader playing in nightclubs. Richard was an accomplished trumpet player. At Indiana University Richard studied chemistry. He enjoyed University life and spoke often of the psychology class he took under Dr. Kinsey of the famed Kinsey Report. Richard also met his first wife Janet Mildred Fisher at IU and they were married in 1939.

Upon graduating from IU Richard and Janet moved back to Wabash, which had been a center for the mineral wool industry. Mineral wool is made by melting slag, a byproduct of the nearby steel mills, and spinning it into a fibrous product similar to fiberglass. He took his first job with the United States Gypsum Company, a large conglomerate which operated several mineral wool plants in the Midwest. While in Wabash Janet gave birth to Elizabeth Emphia and James Merritt. Here is a photo of Richard with Janet and the children in their Wabash house.

Unhappy with corporate life, Richard decided to forge out on his own. He left USG and moved to Janet’s home town of North Judson, Indiana, about 60 miles west of Wabash. There Richard started his own mineral wool plant as a three- way partnership with two friends, Jim Hindman and Richard Wampler. The plant struggled and was never really a success, but it was there that Richard designed a new machine for spinning the mineral wool fibers. Richard applied for and was awarded the first of his many patents. Unfortunately, USG sued Richard, claiming that he had developed the spinner while he was still in their employ. The suit dragged on for several years before the case was finally dismissed and Richard was exonerated. Richard found a lucrative business in licensing his new spinner. Soon he had installed spinners in mineral wool plants all over North America. This entailed a great deal of travel to service the various sites and that travel directly led to the two great loves of his life. The first was flying. Richard reasoned that he could justify buying an airplane as business transportation, and so he took flying lessons. He loved the newfound freedom of the skies and bought a Cessna 140, a small two-seat plane. He and the little Cessna traveled extensively. The second love was Helen Scott of Toronto, Canada. Richard had several Canadian licensees and on one Canadian trip he met and fell in love with Helen. His marriage to Janet had been unraveling for several years and soon they were divorced. Richard Married Helen in 1953 and they moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The business continued to grow and Richard continued to develop newer and better spinners. He traded the Cessna, first for a four-place Piper Tripacer, and eventually a Beech Bonanza. In 1954 Richard and Helen built a small house on Lukens Lake just outside Wabash for what would become one of the happiest times of their lives. Here is a picture of Richard enjoying the patio of the small house in the 1950's. Lukens Lake had several dozen cottages on it and many were occupied by good friends of Richard and Helen. Business was good and they had a lively social life, particularly in the summers when all of their friends were at the lake. Around 1960 they built a much larger house on a beautiful wooded lot on the other side of the lake.

As the years wore on however, the mineral wool business went into decline. Fiberglass, a much superior product, was competing heavily in the market. Furthermore Richard’s patents were maturing and one by one the licensees were dropping out. Richard needed another business. He tried several. He and a friend, Red Smith, started Tri-O-Dynamics. They made ozone generators, which were sold as air fresheners to restaurants. Unfortunately, it was discovered that year that ozone was toxic to the lungs, so that venture was quickly abandoned. Richard, being an engineer, was always fascinated with slide rules. His constant companion was his 10" Picket slide rule. For a slide rule to be accurate it had to be large and of course that meant that it could not fit in one's pocket. This was years before calculators became available, and there was a need for an accurate pocket calculator. Richard decided to invent a pocket 10" slide rule, and Cal Tape Industries was born. Basically the Cal Tape was a roll-up tape measure with slide-rule calibrations on the tapes rather than inches. Richard had the tapes made as well as the plastic cases. The idea was good but the project was under-financed. The parts fit together poorly and required a fair amount of hand work to finish each unit. Richard employed Helen and his children in the manufacturing efforts. Although a few thousand units were sold they never really caught on and the business was abandoned.

The airplane was not only used for business but also was the perfect escape machine. Helen loved to fly with Richard and they took all of their vacations by plane. Here is a picture of Richard with his two children, Beth and Jim, enjoying one such vacation in Colorado. Richard and Helen often flew to Florida during the winters to escape the cold of the Midwest winter. On one such vacation they met Margret Klikna, a realtor in New Smyrna Beach. Richard and Helen became good friends with Margret and she suggested that they come to Florida and try their hands at real estate. So it was that in 1967 Richard sold the plane and the Lukens Lake house and moved to New Smyrna Beach.

In New Smyrna Beach Richard and Helen took to Real Estate like a couple of fish to water. They both rose in prominence in the real estate community. Richard was president of the Volusia County Board of Realtors and Helen became President of the State Board of Realtors’ Women’s Council. They lived in several locations in New Smyrna. In 1972 they bought a lot in a newly formed subdivision, Venesia. There they built a two-bedroom house on a canal with a spectacular view overlooking the inland waterway, where they would remain for the remainder of their days. With the mineral wool business behind him Richard could no longer justify the airplane. His attention now turned to the water and boating. He tried a number of small boats and eventually bought a houseboat. Helen and Richard loved the houseboat and found it ideal for trips up and down the inland waterway. They sold the first houseboat and bought a 32-foot Gibson, which they christened the Rio Capri. The Rio Capri suited them perfectly and served them faithfully for many years.

By 1990 Richard and Helen were pretty much retired from business and lived a quiet life in their home in Venesia. Dick with his son Jim in 1990. In 1995 Helen developed ovarian cancer and quickly died on June 29th leaving Richard heartbroken. Richard forged on by himself but old age was catching up with him as well. In 1994 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer for which he was successfully treated. In 1997 he had a routine gall bladder operation that went badly due to a botched anesthesia job nearly killing him. The following year Richard was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma growing inside his nasal passage. A series of radiation treatments suppressed the tumor, but only for a time. Here is the last photo taken of Richard just six months before the tumor finaly claimed him just a week short of his 83rd birthday.