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In Memoriam

Here we remember deceased slide rule collectors who had a public presence in the slide rule world and take note of their contributions. They are listed most recent first.


Donald Black
???? – 2012

Helped publish the Journal of the Oughtred Society from the founding of the OS until 2011.

Bernard Carter Boykin
1921 – May 12, 2011

Born in Ruxton, Maryland. He earned a BS degrees in Chemistry from Williams College in 1942/43 and another in Chemical Engineering from John Hopkins University in 1954. During World War II he was a radar officer in the United States Navy. Bernard manufactured the Boykin RotaRule from his home in Ruxton, Maryland. His design was started in 1957, with manufacturing commencing in the early 60's. Though based on the expired patent of Dempster's RotaRule, last built in 1948, Boykin improved the slide rule with better materials and scale arrangements. About 200 units were sold prior to 1973. He owned Boykin Electro Tech and in 1991 founded the Whitby/Brewer (Yacht) Association. As of 2009 he was active at age 85 and enjoyed sailing with his wife Carolyn. Bernard died of leukemia at age 89. In addition to his wife, Mr. Boykin is survived by three daughters, Carol Boykin of Ruxton, Betsy Boykin of Bolton Hill and Bobbie Boykin of Larchmont, N.Y.; and two grandsons.

Bernard Carter Boykin

Wayne E. Feely, PhD
May 24, 1931 - January 27, 2011

Of Rydal, Pennsylvania. Member of the Oughtred Society and contributor to the JOS. Wayne was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York where he graduated from high school. He was a graduate of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University in Brooklyn and received his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Rochester in 1957. He served in the United States Army, being honorably discharged in 1962 after reaching the rank of First Lieutenant in the Chemical Corps. Wayne worked for 36 years as a research chemist for Rohm and Haas, a multi-national chemicals manufacturing company in Pennsylvania, until his retirement in the early 1990's. He accumulated 21 U.S. Patents. Wayne is best known amongst slide rule collectors for his expertise on Fuller and Thacher cylindical slide rules. Wayne outlived his wife Jeanette, They had 3 children, Bennett, Susan and Janet and two step-sons Chuck and Chris, and at his death at age 79, eight grandchildren.

Wayne_E_Feely

Harold (Dave) David Rueb
1939 - 2009

Dave was an avid slide rule collector and had one of the largest K&E collections. He worked as a structural engineer for 40 years, and for 37 years as the owner of H.D. Rueb Structural Engineer. Obtained his Architectural Engineering Degree at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo ('61). Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. Upon graduation, he served our country as a Captain of the Civil Engineering Squadron in the U.S. Air Force ('62-'68). Dave was stationed at Duluth AFB in Minnesota and Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska. Master's Degree in Structural Engineering at UC Berkeley ('69). Dave engineered over 5,000 buildings in 10 states, including churches, public schools, office buildings, retirement centers, country clubs, shopping centers, commercial buildings, medical buildings and private residences. A few examples of his projects included the Alhambra High School, Longs Drug Stores and the prison retrofit at Alcatraz Island. He is survived by his wife Leslie Marie (Olson) Rueb and three sons.


Harold David Rueb Click photo to see Dave's slide rule display

Osborne Ingle Price
September 30, 1930 – June 3, 2008

Osborne was one of the original founders of the Oughtred Society that first met together in 1991. As the publicity director, he helped to expand the membership in its early years. The list of American slide rule patents was one of his many contributions to the slide rule community. He studied mechanical engineering at the Stevens Institute in Hoboken, NJ, earning his degree in 1955. After a stint in the U.S. Navy he ran his father's business, Magnetic Devices, then relocated to Los Altos, CA. He is survived by his wife Elfried in San Jose, CA.

Osborne Price

John Prince
November 13, 1941 – December 6, 2005

John specialized in collecting K&E rules, with a strong interest in Pickett as well. In 2002, John described how he started with slide rules in 1960: "I used a K&E 4181-3 ; we were mandated to use either a 4081-3 or 4181-3 in our freshman slide rule class. I chose the cheaper (very important to a married 18 year old) rule and never regretted it despite the dire predictions from some faculty about dimensional stability and durability. I never really needed a more complex rule while working in graduate school as an electrical engineer." [ISRG, message 15929]

John Prince

Dick Schwartzer
March 5, 1933 – March 11, 2005

Dick operated The Slide Rule Emporium, the major source for new-in-box Pickett slide rules. Dick was a friend to many.

Dick Schwartzer

Joe Levine
December 19, 1948 – January 25, 2005

Joe was a regular contributor to the ISRG list from its beginnings, with the handle "JoeDentist," perhaps best known for his Schmendrolog April Fools' Day hoax.



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Herman van Herwijnen
October 15, 1929 – August 8, 2004

Herman was a prominent member of the Dutch Circle of Slide Rule Collectors. His major work was a CD database with over 5000 slide rules cataloged (including images). In addition he co-authored the book Calculating on Slide Rule and Disc and published many times in the Journal of the Oughtred Society. He was also a seller of slide rules.

Herman van Herwijnen
Click for larger picture

Michael O'Leary
November 27, 1951 – July 19, 2003

Michael's slide rule accomplishments ranged from development of the K&E and Pickett master XREF spreadsheets, to moderating the ISRG discussion list, to writing for the Journal of the Oughtred Society. Michael corresponded with many collectors around the world.

Michael O'Leary

Picture credits: Schwartzer and Prince, from newspaper obituaries; van Herwijnen, from Otto van Poelje; O'Leary, from Jim Cerny.


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last modified November 28, 2011