William T. Piper Jr.

William "Bill" Thomas Piper Jr. (8 September 1911 – 24 August 2007) was an American businessman and president of Piper Aircraft from 1968 to 1973.[1] He oversaw the company after his father's death and the company's sale.[2][3]

Not to be confused with William T. Piper.
William T. Piper Jr.
Born
William Thomas Piper Jr.

(1911-09-08)September 8, 1911
Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania U.S.
DiedAugust 23, 2007(2007-08-23) (aged 95)
Danville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Known forSecond President of Piper Aircraft
Parent(s)William T. Piper
Maria Piper

Piper Jr. was born in 1911 to William T. Piper and Marie Theresa Piper (née Van DeWater). As a young boy Piper Jr. was very interested in business; he created his own shoe-cleaning service in Lock Haven when he was just 7. He often went to work with his father and was fascinated by airplanes as well.[4] As young men, Piper Jr. and his two brothers Howard and Thomas worked at the Piper factory and learned how to fly.

Piper Jr. attended Harvard University just like his father and upon graduation was put in charge of the sales department. He ran an aggressive marketing campaign in the Western United States where Piper Cub sales had struggled in years past. On a business trip to Los Angeles Piper Jr. became lifelong friends with James Bacon.[5][6][7]

Upon his father's death Piper Jr. was voted as President by the Piper Aircraft Board of Advisors and remained in that position until Piper was sold in 1973. Piper Aircraft would later move to where it is located today, at Vero Beach, Florida.[8] Piper Jr. remained living in his home in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and Marco Island, Florida.

On August 20, 2007 Piper Jr. fell on one step going out to the deck at his summer home in Lock Haven. He was taken to the local hospital then transferred to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville Pa. He had surgery on his hip the following day. On August 24 W. T. Piper Jr. died unexpectedly in his hospital bed.[9] An autopsy was not conducted. His wife Elizabeth was called at 3:20 AM [10]

See also

References
  1. "Piper Aircraft, quick history".
  2. "Bill Piper and the Piper Cubs". HistoryNet. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  3. "William T. Piper Jr. September 8, 1911 - August 24, 2007 William T. Piper Jr., scion of the aircraft family that made the Piper Cub world famous, died Aug". 11 February 2019.
  4. Home, Yost-Gedon Funeral. "William (Bill) Piper Obituary - Yost - Gedon Funeral Home & Cremation Services LLC". www.yost-gedonfuneralhome.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  5. "Industry Mourns Passing of General Aviation Pioneer, William T. Piper, Jr. – GAMA". gama.aero. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  6. "William Thomas Piper, Jr". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  7. "StackPath". www.pipermuseum.com. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  8. James, Erwin (12 February 2019). "William T Piper Jr former president of Piper and who oversaw its purchase passes away".
  9. Sep 3; Aviation, 2007 Staff | The Weekly Of Business. "FORMER PIPER AIRCRAFT CHAIRMAN WILLIAM T. PIPER, JR. DIES". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  10. ganews (2007-09-07). "William T. Piper Jr. dies at 95 two weeks before his 96th birthday". General Aviation News. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.