Robert Tuttle WALLACE

  General Notes:

multiple patents, career in research and development for Owens Illinois Corp. Of import: development of plastic bottle and computer display panel. Hobies: gardening (roses) and stamps

Remembrances of Emily Palm Brown: I remember Uncle Bob as a genuinely kind man. He was responsible for my working as an intern at Owens Illinois during the summer of 1969 after I graduated from college. I would see him in the halls occasionally and I remember him as a tall, graceful and kind man.

From the Toledo Blade:
Retired O-I executive 'visionary' for his time

By Rose Russell Stewart
Blade Staff Writer

Robert T. Wallace, 74, a retired Owens-Illinois executive described as a visiionary, died Thursday in the P.A. Peterson Home nursing facility, Rockford , Ill. He had suffered from lung cancer.

He had lived in Rockford for about a year.

Mr. Wallace, formerly of Ottawa Hills, was a 'visionary in terms of new products, according to Ed Santiago, a retired O-I senior research chemist.

"I didn't work directly under him, but I came to know him personally because he was kind to me in many ways," Mr. Santiago said.

During Mr. Wallace's 21 years at O-I, he was corporate vice president of new product planning and development and vice president and director of the National Petro Chemicals Corp. a registered professional engineer, he developed six patents. He retired in 1975.

His daughter, Marjorie Stearns, said the family's home kitchen became a testing site for some plastic containers.

" He was involved with the development of the plastic bottle," she said. in the 1950s when detergent bottles were glass, " We used to test various prototype detergent bottles in our kitchen."

Her father also was instrumental in the development of the glass panel on early computers, she said. A native of Mt. Vernon, N.Y. Mr. Wallace joined O-I as chief of plastic development in 1954.

In 1958 he was promoted to assistant research director in charge of applied research organics, and was a member of Princeton University's plastics advisory council.

He was assigned to the firm's international division as vice president of the Panamanian subsidiary, Owens-Illinois International, in 1959. He was director of new product planning from 1964 to 1968, when he was named vice president of new product planning and development.

He was selected Toledo's Engineer of the Year in 1965.

In 1947 he joined Libbey -Owen-Ford, where he was superintendent of the coating resin and alkyd molding compound plants at L-O-F's Plaskon division. IN 1952 he was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship for executive development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a master's degree in industrial management.

Before coming to Toledo, he was with the Carbide & Carbon Chemical Corp, in northwest Indiana.

A 1942 chemical engineering graduate from the University of Michigan, he was manager of the varsity basketball team and chairman of the student war board. He also was elected to the Sigma Xi , Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Kappa Phi honorary societies, and was president of Theta Delta Chi fraternity.

An avid gardener, Mr. Wallace was known for his rose bushes.

"He had at one point 85 rose bushes. He supplied many people with bouquets and would come through for people who needed various colors," Mrs. Stearsn said. " His gardening techniques were very organic. He recycled from the day they started talking about recycling."

Mr. Wallace was the first customer of the Dayton Electricar Corp. in 1979 when he purchased a Lectric Leopard, a 1980 delux-model Renault Le Car, which had an 18 horsepower electric motor. He donated the car to the University of Toledo, his daughter said. He became occupied with stamp collecting and various volunteer activities during retirement.

In 1993 he was honored by the Ottawa Hills High School baseball team. He took care of the team's infield for several years, Mrs. Stearns said.

Mr. Wallace had many memberships. Among them, he was a member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Rockford; board of directors, Toledo Salvation Army; he was chairman of the advisory board of the Adult Rehabilitation Center of the Toledo Salvation Army; chairman of the advisory council for Polymeric Materials Program, school of engineering, Princeton University; board of directors, Toledo Council on World Affairs, and several professional memberships.

Also surviving are his brothers, Wiliam and George.

Memorial services will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in peterson Meadows, 6401 Newburg Road, Rockford. There will be no visitation.

The family request that tributes be in the form of contributions to the Toledo Salvation Army.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Executive, Owens Illinois.

• Education: BS Univ Of Michigan 1942, MIT 1953, Sloan Fellowship.

• Religion: Lutheran.

Robert married Virginia FREY, daughter of Emil Frank FREY and Alma Henrietta Louisa KIESS, on Aug 19, 1944 in Toledo OH. (Virginia FREY was born on Apr 5, 1920, died on Aug 17, 1993 in Toledo OH and was buried on Aug 20, 1993 in Ottawa Hills Memorial Toledo OH.)