Dick Chandley, 1930-2021

George Dixon (Dick) Chandley, age 90, passed away on Thursday, July 15, 2021 in Lake Wales.

He was born December 12, 1930, in the Lake Wales Hospital, the son of Myra and Ed Chandley (both deceased), longtime residents of Lake Wales. After completing the Lake Wales public schools, Dick attended Davidson College 1948-1949 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1949-1955, receiving both a BS and an MS in Metallurgy, cum laude.

Mr. Chandley was in the Army Ordnance Corps from 1955-1957, serving as a second lieutenant, mostly at the Watertown Arsenal in MA. He continued there as a civilian in charge of the Foundry and Heat Treat Branch for five years, before going to the TRW Metals Division in Minerva, OH, in 1962 as Chief Engineer.

Most of his career was spent with Hitchiner Manufacturing Co., Inc., of Milford, NH. He was Vice President of Technology for 33 years and, for 14 of those years, also President of Metal Casting Technology, a joint venture company between Hitchiner and General Motors Corp. In his career Mr. Chandley obtained 41 U.S. patents covering various metallurgical processes. Many of these were considered outstanding and were the basis of his receiving three national and international awards. In the field of investment casting, he was considered a world expert, publishing 38 major papers, and speaking about his work around the world on numerous occasions, including the American Foundrymen's Society Silver Anniversary Lecture and a Keynote Address at the Foundry Education Foundation. Production from his processes include things like multipurpose hand tools, golf iron heads, jet engine parts, and automotive parts - made by the millions each year in many countries.

In 2000, Mr. Chandley retired and returned to Lake Wales, where he spent his remaining years, traveling, consulting, gardening, and participating in various community activities. At various times in his life, he enjoyed many activities - tennis, golf, downhill skiing, scuba diving, surfing, wind surfing, cross country skiing, and even enjoyed a hot air balloon flight.

Mr. Chandley was predeceased by his son Wally in 1980 and his wife, Mary Neil Whitmire Chandley in 2019. He is survived by his daughters, Cindy Chandley, Bev Chandley, Dottie Kallam, and Deborah Umphries. As well as his grandchildren, Brindy Chandley North, Matt Chandley, son-in-law, Jerry Kallam, grandchildren, Jennifer Kallam, Andy Kallam, and Cody Rademacher, son-in-law, Luke Umphries, and grandsons, Tim Umphries and Dylan Umphries and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one sibling, Ann Chandley of Tallahassee and family still residing in Polk County, Curtis Chandley, and Carol Chandley Mondello and their families. Stepchildren are Quinton Whitmire, Valerie Davis, Karen Savage, Michelle Whitmire, and Laura Owen; and 11 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

A memorial service in his honor will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 at Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales. It will be followed by a buffet at Grape Hammock Rec Hall.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to MIT in memory of George Chandley for the McGovern Neurodegenerative Disorders Fund #2743130. Checks may be made payable to MIT and mailed to: Memorial Gifts office, 600 Memorial Drive, Room W-98-500, Cambridge, MA 02139. Credit Card gifts may be made using the following link: https://giving.mit.edu/george-chandley.