Today in Wheeling History: November 3—Gus Scarvelis, who immigrated to Wheeling as a child and became an inventor and research engineer creating numerous patents while working for Owens-Illinois in Toledo, Ohio, died at age 74 (1989).
Gus Scarvelis was born on June 21, 1915, in Kardamyla, Chios, Greece, to Stephanos "Steve" Scarvelis, a goldsmith, and Giannoula. In 1923, at age seven, Gus immigrated to America aboard the Madonna Ship from Piraeus, arriving in Wheeling, West Virginia, on November 1. He joined his father and older brother Peter, who were already working in the area. Tragically, within a year of arrival, his mother died unexpectedly in nearby Weirton, followed shortly by his father's death. Orphaned, Gus was raised by his three older siblings. His brother Peter worked in the steel mills but died in a mill accident in 1946 at age 39.
Determined to escape the dangerous mill work, Gus pursued higher education despite financial hardships. He attended Rochester High School in Pennsylvania (1935) and Georgia Tech (1938) before transferring to Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, earning his metallurgical engineering degree in 1949. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II (1945-1946) in the Philippines and Korea. Gus married Falea Adams in 1945 and worked as a research engineer, creating patents including "Pouch manufacturing means and method" for food packaging, "Method of extruding a foamed plastic composition," "Process for making wet-strength paper and product thereof," and "Method of preparing polystyrene beads for molding." He retired in 1977 after 20 years at Owens-Illinois and died November 3, 1989, in Toledo, Ohio.
To learn more: Gus Scarvelis – Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2t42yadp), Find a Grave Memorial (https://tinyurl.com/ycy8bd4j), Toledo Blade (https://tinyurl.com/4mefyfwt), Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/yc45v7jx) (https://tinyurl.com/aj7b5f5x) (https://tinyurl.com/46tm275b) (https://tinyurl.com/9xkf6xe6) (https://tinyurl.com/33e35k9p)
Photo credits: Toledo Blade, Google Patents, Find a Grave
Gus Scarvelis was born on June 21, 1915, in Kardamyla, Chios, Greece, to Stephanos "Steve" Scarvelis, a goldsmith, and Giannoula. In 1923, at age seven, Gus immigrated to America aboard the Madonna Ship from Piraeus, arriving in Wheeling, West Virginia, on November 1. He joined his father and older brother Peter, who were already working in the area. Tragically, within a year of arrival, his mother died unexpectedly in nearby Weirton, followed shortly by his father's death. Orphaned, Gus was raised by his three older siblings. His brother Peter worked in the steel mills but died in a mill accident in 1946 at age 39.
Determined to escape the dangerous mill work, Gus pursued higher education despite financial hardships. He attended Rochester High School in Pennsylvania (1935) and Georgia Tech (1938) before transferring to Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, earning his metallurgical engineering degree in 1949. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II (1945-1946) in the Philippines and Korea. Gus married Falea Adams in 1945 and worked as a research engineer, creating patents including "Pouch manufacturing means and method" for food packaging, "Method of extruding a foamed plastic composition," "Process for making wet-strength paper and product thereof," and "Method of preparing polystyrene beads for molding." He retired in 1977 after 20 years at Owens-Illinois and died November 3, 1989, in Toledo, Ohio.
To learn more: Gus Scarvelis – Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2t42yadp), Find a Grave Memorial (https://tinyurl.com/ycy8bd4j), Toledo Blade (https://tinyurl.com/4mefyfwt), Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/yc45v7jx) (https://tinyurl.com/aj7b5f5x) (https://tinyurl.com/46tm275b) (https://tinyurl.com/9xkf6xe6) (https://tinyurl.com/33e35k9p)
Photo credits: Toledo Blade, Google Patents, Find a Grave
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