For more than 40 years, Mr. Hellenbrand was actively involved in both the Northamerican Heating, Refrigeration and Airconditioning Wholesalers Association (NHRAW) and the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), for which he served as a past committee chair and member of the board of directors.

“Vern was well respected and loved as a leader because of his keen insight and understanding of our industry,” said Ted Rees, ARI past president. “He will be missed as a loyal friend and as a man of his word who made many great contributions, including helping ARI to hone its focus on technical education for high school students. Our current program is now used as a model in schools throughout the nation, and that all started with Vern.”

Mr. Hellenbrand also was active in the fledgling solar energy industry, serving numerous roles in its promotion and development.

JAMES SIMON

HOLLYWOOD, CA — James S. Simon, formerly of Phoenix, AZ, died at home on May 12, 2002, after a long battle with cancer. He was 83.

Mr. Simon owned and operated Hermetic Refrigeration in Phoenix, AZ, and Los Angeles and Oakland, CA, for 25 years. He was well known in the industry for pioneering the rebuilding of hermetic and semi-hermetic compressors.

“Jim will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him, and by all those whose lives he touched,” commented his family. Comments can be communicated to his nephew, Jerry Slonsky, at jslonsky@cox.net (e-mail).

He is survived by Carolyn, his wife of 21 years, two daughters, two sisters, six grandchildren, four nieces, and one nephew.

HUGH REDMON

OWENSBORO, KY — Industry veteran and educator Hugh Redmon passed away May 13 following a long battle with cancer.

Mr. Redmon was a graduate of a technical school here in Owensboro. He joined the industry in 1954 as a service technician on commercial-industrial equipment before becoming a field service engineer for a chiller manufacturer.

Mr. Redmon joined Copeland Corp., Sidney, OH, in 1973 as a service engineer, helping wholesalers and contractors deal with service problems. During that time, he started conducting seminars for wholesalers and Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) chapters. He later worked as a Copeland applications engineer.

In 1984, he became a training manager on Copeland products for a wholesaler. He then went to Alco Controls in St. Louis as an applications engineer dealing with technical training on refrigeration flow controls. He returned to Copeland in 1999 as a Service Training Specialist.

He was active in a variety of training aspects in the industry, including membership in RSES, serving on the ARI Industry Competency Test Construction Committee, and chairing the hvacr aspect of the National Skills USA — VICA contest. He was the recipient of RSES’s 2000 Herman Goldberg Lifetime Achievement Award.

Memorial donations may to Hospice, 915 W. Michigan, Sidney, OH 45365; 937-498-2311.

Publication date: 06/03/2002