The market lost some good friends and great leaders this year. EW's staff extends their condolences to the families and co-workers of Bob Bukowsky, Ideal Industries, Sycamore, Ill.; Jerome Dreyfuss, Dreyfuss & Associates, Hialeah, Fla.; Stuart M. Irby, Stuart C. Irby Co., Jackson, Miss.; Harold Kerman, Steiner Electric Co., Elk Grove Village, Ill; Marvin Kogod, Maurice Electrical Supply, Washington, D.C.; Edward McClinton, who worked with Crouse-Hinds, Nunn Electric and Warren Electric; Keith Phillips, Romac, Commerce, Calif.; and Art Weisberg, State Electric Supply, Huntington, W.Va.
Art Weisberg, founder of State Electric Supply Co., and Huntington, W.Va., Service Wire Co., Culloden, W. Va., passed away Nov. 24 at age 88. He was well known throughout the industry as the ultimate entrepreneur, a man who, according to an article in Huntington, W.Va.'s Herald-Dispatch, started up State Electric Supply 60 years ago with $2,500 and the moxie to move from his native Brooklyn to West Virginia to sell light bulbs, extension cable and fuses door-to-door from the back of his truck. Weisberg earned an engineering degree at New York's City College, and he was a big believer in the value of education. In 2008, he and his wife, Joan, donated $2.5 million to West Virginia's Marshall University to fund the school's engineering program.
Jack Caveney Sr., the founder of Panduit Corp., Tinley Park, Ill., passed away last month after a long, courageous battle with cancer over the past 15 years. According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, he is survived by his wife Margaret; and children, Connie (Dennis) Colleran, Jack, Jr. (Terry) Caveney, Betty (Joseph) Rocci, Thomas (Mimi), Gerald (Nadine), Joni (Michael) Diggs, Marty and Andrew (Cheryl) Caveney; 23 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. Panduit will continue to operate as a private, family-owned and -controlled business. John Caveney will continue as chairman and CEO, Tom Donovan will continue as president, Jerry Caveney will continue as chief legal counsel, and Andrew Caveney will continue as senior V.P. of marketing.