Clifford Reuschlein

Clifford Joseph Reuschlein, an engineer and businessman who played a part in the Manhattan Project and used his later years to lobby tirelessly for El Pasoans with mental illness, died Sunday, May 11, 2008, at his home in Madison. He was 89. Mr. Reuschlein retired to El Paso in 1983, devoting his time to advocating for the mentally ill and their families. An activist for better treatment, government accountability, and caregiver support, he spent his days counseling families in crisis, working with local and state mental health professionals, influencing legislators and judges, and producing a newsletter to draw attention to mental health issues. He helped establish a local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), serving as its director for 12 years. He was a member of the NAMI Homeless and Missing Network steering committee and a board member and past vice-president of Texas AMI. He was named 1991 Citizen of the Year by the El Paso Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and 1992 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year by El Paso United Way. The El Paso Mayor's Advisory Board on Aging inducted him into the Older ElPasoans Hall of Fame, and he was honored by the El Paso Life Management Center for outstanding service to individuals with mental disabilities. Mr. Reuschlein graduated in 1942 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was a member of Pi Tau Sigma International Mechanical Engineering Honor Society. He was an engineer for DuPont during World War II when he was assigned to the Manhattan Project at the Hanford Engineer Works in Richland, Wash., the site of one of three federal locales developing a secret defense project. Aware only that his work was a part of the war effort, Mr. Reuschlein contributed to the development of the atomic bomb. He was a Navy veteran, serving aboard the U.S.S. Kenmore in the South Pacific in World War II. In 1946 he resumed his engineering career, joining Hyland Hall & Co. (H&H Industries/H&H Electric) in Madison, where he became president and retired as chairman of the board 37 years later. He was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower to the Apprentice Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Labor, where he served in his capacity as an engineer and businessman. He was a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning Engineers Society; the Construction Specifications Institute; and the Society of American Military Engineers. He was a fellow, board member and president of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association. He was a founder and board member of Maplewood Nursing Home in Sauk City, Wis. He was an avid boater, water skier and downhill skier and enjoyed carpentry as a hobby. During his Madison years he was a member of Blessed Sacrament Church, Knights of Columbus, Elks Club, Kiwanis, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. In El Paso he was a member of NAMI and EpAMI. Mr. Reuschlein was born Feb. 5, 1919, in Plain, Wis., the son of Henry and Christina Paulus Reuschlein. A serendipitous childhood encounter with Frank Lloyd Wright proved prophetic when Wright admired the button collection he'd sewn to his cap. Wright told him, "One day, you'll make something of yourself," and Mr. Reuschlein grew up to design the mechanicals for at least two of Wright's buildings: the Unitarian church in Madison and the Spring Green Center in Spring Green, Wis. He married Elizabeth Ginevra Starr of Huntington, W. Va., on Feb. 25, 1944, in Kennewick, Wash. He is predeceased by his parents and his siblings, Florence Schrock, Dorothy Kayser, and Earl Reuschlein. He is survived by his wife; four daughters - Cathy (Bill) Taylor, Columbus, Ohio; Carole (Mike) Ecker, Black Earth, Wis.; Connie Reuschlein (Dan Gaytan), El Paso; and Nancy Reuschlein, Madison - and two sons: C. Randy (Mary) Reuschlein, Stoughton; and Tom Reuschlein, Colorado Springs, Col. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Services and burial were in Madison. The family requests memorials be made to National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, P. O. Box 759155, Baltimore, MD, 21275-9155 or www.nami.org.