Roger J. Runck

Roger J. Runck passed away Dec. 20, 2009, in Grand Junction, Colorado, age 97. Beloved brother of Mildred Beck and Ruth Smoot, of Cortez, Colorado. Mr. Runck received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder. While an undergraduate, he won a national award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in a contest for new process development. During World War II, Mr. Runck worked in the research department of Metal & Thermit Corporation in Rahway, New Jersey, where he developed thermite-based sabotage weapons for the U.S. Office of Strategic Services. He also earned a Master of Science in Metallurgy from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Mr. Runck moved to Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, in 1947, where he became director of the Defense Metals Information Center. Working on a contract with the Department of Defense, DMIC disseminated technical information about special metals used in aircraft, missiles and other weapon systems. As director, Mr. Runck traveled extensively, giving presentations to international audiences on the development and uses of materials in aerospace vehicles. After retiring from Battelle, Mr. Runck worked in Rifle, Colorado, for the Department of Energy in the development of oil shale mining and extraction, and served as the founding president of the International Precious Metals Institute, Allentown, Pennsylvania. He leaves two sons, Robert of Boston, Massachusetts, and Robin of Los Angeles, California; two daughters, Rogene Neely of Winchester, Virginia, and Rhonda Runck of Columbus, Ohio; and four grandchildren. His wife, Theodora Ridgway Runck, to whom he had been married for 69 years, died in 2003. Mr. Runck will be buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Rifle, Colorado. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado, or to the Rifle Public Library in memory of his wife, Theodora.