Richard William Heater

Richard grew up on Sussex in Detroit. He early on became fascinated with model airplanes and gliders. He graduated from Cooley HS and enlisted in the Army Air Corps during WWII. He served as a top turret gunner in a B25 Mitchell at Ladd Field, Alaska. He was called up as a reservist during the Korean War and assigned To Tyndall AFB, Tampa FL. He worked atop Mount Washington for a brief period studying cold weather effects on aircraft engine performance. He received Bachelors Degrees in mechanical and industrial engineering at Lawrence Institute of Technology. The earliest employer was Detroit Controls while he lived at 22120 Ulrich Drive, Mount Clemens, MI. In 1960 he accepted an engineering job at the Eaton Corp in Marshall, MI, where he lived at 15725 17 1/2 Mile Road. While at Eaton he developed new products for the automobile industry, including viscous fan drives and was awarded a number of patents, including one for a supercharger. He loved electronics and built numerous Heathkits, becoming a radio amateur. His favorite music was Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. He liked german beer,and Lagavullin Scotch. He also loved sailing, building a Luger in his garage, and later buying a Rebel Class sail boat which he kept and raced at the Clark Lake Yacht Club. He was also passionate about gardening,woodworking and fishing. He retired to 813 North Ohio, Gaylord, MI. He was cremated and some of his ashes were scattered at his church with his wife’s, and others in the Indian River along side the hotel where he honeymooned, and in Burt Lake.