Sandra Sokol, the village clerk in Oak Park, knew Richard E. Wurtzinger for nearly 20 years. A modest man, he never mentioned his accomplishments as an inventor or as a technological engineer.
Mr. Wurtzinger’s know-how helped early generations of American astronauts return to Earth and jet fighters land safely on swaying decks of aircraft carriers. But it was only this week that Sokol found out about Mr. Wurtzinger’s talent for technological research and development. One of his sons told her about it.
“He was a regular guy,” the village clerk said. “I never knew what he did. Now, I know.”
Mr. Wurtzinger, 69, of Oak Park, died of natural causes Friday, Aug. 6, in West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park.
Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Wurtzinger attended St. Cyril and Methodius Grammar School and Lane Tech High School.
He enrolled in the DeVry Institute of Technology in 1953 as an undergraduate student of electrical engineering, according to information provided by his family.
At 19, Mr. Wurtzinger began his engineering career while still at DeVry. He worked as an engineer in the Cook Research Labs, according to his family.
In the heat of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, Mr. Wurtzinger worked on projects contracted out for the Mercury and Gemini programs at NASA and for the armed forces, according to his family. For example, he helped design systems to recover space capsules from the ocean after re-entry into the atmosphere. He also worked on developing the first ejection seat for the F-104 fighter plane, according to his family.
In 1957, Mr. Wurtzinger married his sweetheart, the late Frances Mary Black, whom he had known since the age of 5.
According to their children, they had met through their parents, who were childhood friends. When Mr. Wurtzinger was 9 years old, his future wife of 46 years and her sister ganged up on him, beating him up behind a pickle factory.
Mr. Wurtzinger worked for several technology-driven businesses, starting in 1965. He spent 15 years as a development engineer in Motorola Inc.’s engineering division.
He worked on Motorola’s first line of cellular telephones. Other projects included work on the first highway camera surveillance systems, Mars lights for squad cars, and night-vision cameras, according to information from his family.
In 1984, while working at VCS Inc. in Carol Stream, Mr. Wurtzinger invented an encoding apparatus for a closed-circuit television. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent for the device, which allowed a viewer to track the orientation of a surveillance camera on a remote monitor screen, according to Mr. Wurtzinger’s family.
In his free time, Mr. Wurtzinger was an amateur ham-radio operator. He had picked up the hobby in 1951.
Mr. Wurtzinger was active in his community. From 1971 to 2000, he was on advisory commissions for the Village of Oak Park, dealing with issues such as parking, traffic and cable-franchise agreements.
“He was an excellent citizen,” Sokol said. “He loved the community, and he worked very hard serving it.”
Mr. Wurtzinger retired in 2002.
He is survived by two sons, James and Christopher; a sister, Linda Lou Bricker; and a granddaughter. Services have been held.
