Stan Morantz, ultrasonics inventor

Stan Morantz, 69, of Warrington, a longtime Philadelphia business owner and inventor, died Saturday, Nov. 10, at Doylestown Hospital of complications from Lou Gehrig's disease.

Morantz Ultrasonics, headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia, with an office in Las Vegas, and having $3 million in revenue annually, grew from his father's drapery business at 40th and Chestnut Streets.

While working for his father, who used labor-intensive techniques to make draperies, he invented tools and processes to speed up manufacturing.

Mr. Morantz later expanded into window blinds and, seeing a need for an easy way to clean them, created a machine that used sound waves in water to remove contaminants.

Today, the company sells machines that clean everything from golf clubs to wheelchairs, computers, and auto parts, and helps others start businesses using the machines.

Mr. Morantz was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1962.

His entrepreneurial nature first emerged when he made custom silk-screened T-shirts for his friends, his daughter Lisa Wiser said.

Mr. Morantz turned that into a side business while working for his father's business, Herbert Morantz & Son.

He met his wife, Marilyn, on a blind date in 1964, and they married three years later, his daughter said.

For his business, he traveled to nearly every state and often to Europe.

"He didn't take himself too seriously. He was just a happy-go-lucky guy that everyone wanted to be around," his daughter said.

Mr. Morantz served in the Army Reserve from 1962 to 1968, and later served with the Coast Guard Auxiliary until three years ago, when he was diagnosed with his disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Morantz is survived by another daughter, Heather Zeamon; two sisters; and three grandchildren.

A memorial service is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael-Sacks, 310 Second Street Pike, Southampton, Bucks County.

Shiva will be observed at the home of Heather and Robby Zeamon in Chalfont on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, starting at 7 p.m.