Stanley S. Wulc, 94, inventor and entrepreneur

Stanley S. Wulc, 94, of Jamison, Bucks County, an inventor and entrepreneur, died Thursday, Aug. 27, of pneumonia at Lansdale Abington Hospital.

Born in Vilnius, which before World War II was in Poland and is now the capital of Lithuania, Mr. Wulc was a Holocaust survivor who, after losing his brother, sister, and mother, fought against Nazi Germany in World War II.

From 1942 to 1944, he was among the armed Polish partisans who hid in the forests and conducted hit-and-run raids on German military units.

He enlisted in the Polish Branch of the Royal Air Force and flew Spitfires, said son Allan.

After the war, Mr. Wulc studied on scholarship in Turin, Italy, where he met Dora Kaplan. The two were married for 68 years.

In 1947, Mr. Wulc came to America "with $5 in his pocket to forge a new life," his son said, and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering at Virginia Tech.

A year later, he brought his wife to this country from Italy. He taught engineering at New York University and in the 1950s worked at Strick Trailer, developing truck bodies. The couple lived in Rydal and later Jamison.

Both an entrepreneur and inventor, Mr. Wulc founded several firms. The first, Vector Manufacturing Co., helped produce electronic components for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space missions. A branch of the firm, Vector Telemedics Inc., developed medical devices that are still in use. When Vector was sold, Mr. Wulc became president of the Vector division of United Aircraft, now United Technologies.

Later, he worked as a consultant for Ford Motor Co. and Elco Corp.

He solved many engineering problems, obtaining patents in space travel, aeronautics, audio technology, electronics, packaging, and medicine. His last patent for a surgical device was filed in tandem with his son in 2010.

Mr. Wulc loved photography, music, painting, sculpting, and making violins. He obtained his first camera, a Leica, while in the Resistance in 1942. His first darkroom was in the bathroom of a studio apartment.

In middle age, he took graduate-level courses in fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania.

In the 1980s, Mr. Wulc began painting in the style of the Flemish masters. He also learned to take photographs in a style mimicking the work of the old masters by manipulating light and color.

Fluent in five languages, he was able to talk on a variety of topics. "He was a master of the art of conversation," his son said.

Besides his wife and son, he is survived by son Robert; daughter Karen McKinney; and four grandchildren. Services were Aug. 30.

bcook@phillynews.com

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