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Daggett, Ronald Lorin
MADISON -
Ronald Lorin Daggett, age 88, passed away after a brief illness on
Monday, Oct. 18, 2004. Ron was a retired professor of mechanical engineering
at UW-Madison, where he originated the first engineering plastics course
taught in the world. With Dr. Vincent Gott of the medical school he
co-developed an innovative prosthetic heart valve. He was the founder and
former owner of Engineering Industries of Verona. The company specialized in
solving the problems that no-one else wanted to tackle, taking them to
solution in the form of finished products. He was a skilled craftsman who
built his Madison home, including most of the furniture. The house featured
basement metalworking, woodworking, and ceramic shops, and a drawing studio.
He was proud to be the first on his block with 440-volt power to his house. He
would say, "I can repair anything but broken hearts and the crack of dawn." As
a watercolor artist, he completed an estimated 600 paintings, documenting the
history of Madison and environs. Many have seen his exhibits displaying
montages of buildings, windows, cupolas, steeples and signs. Over the years he
filled multiple notebooks with his calligraphy work, much of it documenting
the haikus of Dorothy, his wife, who passed on four years ago. To keep in
shape he became a skilled figure skater and then took up squash, playing the
game into his 70s. He loved music and played the violin in a community
orchestra. For relaxation he was a voracious reader. And for a change of pace,
friends recall his installation of a hog shed behind his factory for a
blacksmith shop, where he could be found pounding away in the heatless
environment in the dead of winter. Marrying Dorothy Reid after they graduated
from UW-Madison, they raised two children: Karen Wertymer (John) is a social
worker in Evanston, Ill.; Lorin (Anna Bakke), who suffered an untimely death
seven years ago, was a highly respected psychiatrist in Seattle, Wash. Ron is
survived by four grandchildren, Jennifer Wilson (Doug) of Deerfield, Ill.,
Megan Wertymer (John Fleck) of Chicago, Ill., Kirsten Wertymer of Evanston,
Ill., and Jessica Daggett of Seattle, Wash. Ron is also survived by four
great-grandchildren, Madison, Eleanor and Reid Wilson of Deerfield, Ill., and,
Henry Fleck of Chicago, Ill. A memorial service will be held at BETHANY UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH, 3910 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53705, on Saturday,
Nov. 20, 2004, at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ron
and Dorothy Daggett Endowment Fund, care of the Madison Community Foundation,
PO Box 5010, 2 Science Court, Madison, WI 53705-0010; or to the Ronald L.
Daggett Memorial Scholarship Fund, care of the University of Wisconsin
Foundation, PO Box 8860, Madison, WI 53708. The family is compiling an
inventory of Ron's paintings, many of which have been given away. A photograph
and a description, including the title and date, and the name and address of
the owner sent to his daughter, Karen, at 806 Ingleside Place, Evanston, IL
60201, would be appreciated. Written stories of Ron are welcome, either by
mail to Karen (address above) or on the internet at
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