Norton C. Wheeler ’44

Norton C. Wheeler ’44, of Mystic, Conn.; Sept. 29. He was employed with Davis-Standard machinery company for 60 years, spearheading the company’s first lab in the 1960s and growing it from a small space to a building equipped for customer trials as well as research and development, including his own. In the early 1980s, he patented the DSB screw design, which became the industry’s premier feedscrew and gave Davis-Standard a global technical presence. The DSB continues to be the basis for all Davis-Standard screw designs. In recognition of his contributions in extrusion technology, he was awarded a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers in 1985 and the Bruce C. Maddock Award in 1998, retiring in 1989 but remaining engaged as a consultant until the age of 90. During World War II and the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and Air Force. He played both clarinet and sax in various jazz bands and was a member of the Mud Clam Five. He was also involved with many local community groups, serving as a trustee of the Mystic & Noank Library and as a volunteer with Meals on Wheels. He is survived by five children; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.