Richard Sutz

1932 - 2020

Richard Sutz

Scottsdale - Richard K. Sutz, of Scottsdale, AZ passed away peacefully on November 13, 2020 with his family by his side. Richard was born on March 30, 1932 in Chicago, IL to Benjamin and Bertha Sutz. He was the fourth of five children and graduated from Calumet High School in 1950. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1954. Later in his career, he received a graduate degree in International Business from the prestigious Institut pour l'Etude des Methodes de Direction de l'Entreprise (IMEDE) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Richard was married to his second wife and great love, Wink Blair, from 1988 until her death in 2018. They enjoyed a life of mutual interests in entrepreneurial endeavors, public service, and gracious attention to their large circle of friends and family across the country.

Richard is survived by his sons, Mark and Neal, his brother Robert Sutz, and his sister June Brott. Richard was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Roy and Frank.

Richard was proud of his military service as a Navy Officer in the Bureau of Aeronautics where he invented a new valve for fighter pilots' oxygen breathing systems - still in use by military pilots today - that prevented fatal accidents caused by hypoxia (lack of oxygen at high attitudes). In the Bureau of Aeronautics, he was the Project Officer for the first American installation of the Martin-Baker rocket powered ejection seat, enabling pilots to eject from the runway on landing or takeoff. For his efforts, he was awarded a Letter of Commendation from the Chief of Naval Operations.

Following the Bureau of Aeronautics, Sutz served as Assistant Director for Europe and the Middle East for Grumman Aircraft, (now Northrup/Grumman) responsible for marketing military aircraft. Following Grumman, he attended the IMEDE Business School in Switzerland.

After graduate school, Richard resided in New York City, heading his own company, Richard Sutz & Associates. He returned to Arizona to serve as Deputy Director of the Arizona Energy Office, responsible for Arizona Energy Conservation Programs. He then joined the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), serving as Director of the Energy Related Inventions Program.

After DOE, Richard founded two companies based on his inventions, The Literacy Company and Low Wind LLC. These endeavors spanned his lifelong interest in improving comprehension through better reading and developing revolutionary improvements to multiblade wind machines for water pumping and electrical generation.

Richard loved to tell jokes, frequently unable to reach the punch line because he began to chuckle at the thought of the joke's ending, soon doubled over with a laugh so infectious it left anyone within earshot in stitches without ever hearing the joke's end. He will be missed dearly by all who never heard the punch line.

Per Richard's wishes, there will be no memorial service, but a perpetual and living online memorial will soon come to life at RichardSutz.com to reflect Richard's lifelong interest in and mastery of emerging technology, to which his friends and family can attest. Donations can be made to the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and Wings of Hope Hospice, both in Phoenix.