Obituaries
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 8, 2008
Ron Caplinger, owner, Dry Creek Furniture
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Ron Caplinger, owner of leather upholstery importer Dry Creek Furniture, has died. He was 63.
Caplinger, who was stricken with polio at age 4, was later enrolled at the University of Missouri as the first student in a wheelchair. He also attended Washington University.
He worked in the import-export business, then managed national accounts for various companies for 30 years before launching SourceLink Ltd. and Dry Creek Furniture, specializing in wholesale distribution of leather furniture and sporting goods. The company has exhibited at markets in Tupelo, Miss., and Las Vegas.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy, son, Matthew, and daughter Kate Caplinger Andrews, all of whom are involved in the business he created in 2005; and also three grandchildren, a brother and a sister.
Memorial contributions may be made to Ozark Greenways, P.O. Box 50733, Springfield, Mo. 65805.
Tommy Dale Condren, Sauder, Condren
FORT SMITH, Ark. — Tommy Dale Condren, a Sauder Woodworking sales representative and former owner of Condren Mfg., has died from cancer. He was 79.
Condren was in the industry for more than 60 years, working his way up from a stock boy to national sales manager for Fort Smith Chair Co. and Ayers Mfg. He was owner of upholstery producer Condren Mfg. and later became a sales rep, with Sauder as his main line.
“Tommy loved to travel and would get up every morning like he was 40,” said longtime friend and industry rep Richard Udouj. “He was a road man.”
Condren was a board member of the Southern Furniture Sales and Marketing Division, board member of the Southwest Sales and Marketing Division, and an associate member of the Arkansas Retail Furniture Assn. for more than 25 years. He also was a Korean War veteran.
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son, four grandchildren, a step-grandchild and a sister.
Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church, 200 N. 15th St., Little Rock, Ark. 72205; or to the ACRC Cancer Research Center for Multiple Myeloma, 4301 Markham St., Slot 776, Little Rock, Ark. 72205.
To send an online tribute, visit www.edwardsfuneralhome.com or www.mem.com.
Peter Holzer, partner, Slate Vision
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Peter Holzer, a partner in import company Slate Vision, has died in South Africa due to complications from cancer. He was 65.
Holzer was a partner in the company with his son, Nic Holzer, and Terry Seitz.
Slate Vision sells stone dining and occasional furniture manufactured in South Africa.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife, two other children and three grandchildren.
George Ritchie, sales rep, B&D owner
TACOMA, Wash. — George Ritchie, a former sales representative who purchased the predecessor company of Emerald Home Furnishings, has died. He was 83.
Ritchie purchased the former B&D Sales here in 1974. He grew the business until 1983 when he sold it to his son, Evan Ritchie. Evan formed Emerald Home Furnishings as the company’s import division in 1993 and eventually changed B&D’s name to Emerald.
In 2002, Evan sold the company to the management team led by President David Beckmann.
George Ritchie was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he played rugby and soccer, a sport he continued to play as an adult in Seattle.
He is survived by his sons Evan and Jon Ritchie, six stepchildren and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The family has asked that memorial donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Assn.
James Steinhafel, president, Steinhafels
WAUKESHA, Wis. — James Steinhafel, who headed Top 100 retailer Steinhafels for more than 40 years, has died at age 80.
Steinhafel was president of the family-owned, midpriced retailer until the early 1990s, when he handed the management reins to his son, Gary.
A daughter, Ellen Lappe, also is an executive with the company.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be sent to the charity of the donor’s choice.
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