Quentin D. Mehrkam, 89, metallurgist, company chair

Quentin D. Mehrkam, 89, a metallurgist and former company chairman, died Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Shannondell at Valley Forge from complications of a fall.

Mr. Mehrkam was born in his grandparents' farmhouse in Bethlehem and grew up in Allentown. After graduating from Valley Forge Military Academy, he earned a bachelor's degree in metallurgy from Lehigh University.

During World War II, he was a production metallurgist for an aircraft parts manufacturer in Ohio.

In 1946, Mr. Mehrkam joined Ajax Electric Co. in Philadelphia, where he was involved in the research and development of salt-bath furnaces. The furnaces are used in laboratories and in industry to treat and shape metals, cure plastics and rubber, and remove organics, glass, and ceramics from metal parts.

In 1964, he was appointed vice president for sales and research at Ajax and became senior vice president in 1979. He was elected president and chairman of the board in 1984. The next year he established an Ajax subsidiary, Central Panel Inc., for the design and manufacture of control panels.

Mr. Mehrkam held a patent for a process involved in salt reclamation. He was a fellow of the American Society for Metals and served on the society's handbook committees and wrote a chapter in a textbook the society published. In 1978, he received the American Society for Metals Delaware Valley Man of the Year Award.

He contributed articles to professional journals, including the National Fire Protection Association publication. For three years he taught a course on metallurgy at Temple University.

After retiring from Ajax in 1992, he was an expert witness for a law firm in Chicago.

Mr. Mehrkam married Anna Corila in the early 1940s. The couple had two sons before divorcing. She died in 2003. His wife of more than 20 years, Sally Mehrkam, died in 2003. A son, Terrence, died in 1981.

Mr. Mehrkam is survived by son Douglas; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, at Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave., Wayne, Pa. 19087. Friends may call from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Alleva Funeral Home, 1724 E. Lancaster Ave. Donations may be made to the Wayne Presbyterian Church music department.