Gerald B. Haffenblach, Safety Director of Research and Development, died last week in an unspecified laboratory accident. He is survived by his wife, Gladys, two sons, and three grandchildren.

Haffenblach’s ascent within the company is almost legendary. He came to Safety-Flo in 1952 as a testing associate, having answered a magazine advertisement calling for “strong-willed individuals”. Shortly before submitting to product testing, he pointed out a critical flaw in the experiment that likely averted a catastrophic explosion. The head of R&D at the time, Rolly Pearson, took a risk and promoted him to experiment supervisor.

It was a risk that paid off. Over the years, Haffenblach’s unflagging safety efforts and unusual personality helped shape the culture of Research and Development at Safety-Flo. Indeed, It was he who coined the department’s motto, “Our Research is Never Finished”, which still hangs over the main entry tunnel.

His rigorous adherence to safety standards of the day led to a reduction in lab deaths for several different years in the 1960’s, according to safety logs.

Besides handling safety responsibilities, Haffenblach was an avid amateur chemist. He could often be found in the lab during the small hours of the morning, muttering to himself as he worked about the relative safety of dilute phosphates or the evils of government regulation. Over the years he became a true professional, and his work led to advancements in several fields. It was his experiments with low-cost gasketry materials that allowed Safety-Flo to become the sole supplier of oil seals to Harley-Davidson for much of the 1970’s. The company’s status as a licensed NASA O-ring subcontractor is due to his work as well. In his 49 years with Safety-Flo he contributed fourteen patents to the company roster.

Haffenblach was a popular figure around the lab, always seeming to have time for a joke or an improvised experiment. His infamous hair tonics were widely used by lab workers and test associates alike for a period. His subsequent work in hairpiece bonding agents only increased his popularity further.

The loss of his right hand during testing of a mechanical flagpole prototype in 1967 did little to slow Haffenblach’s work or enthusiasm. In fact, he turned his loss into an asset for the company with his unforgettable safety lectures for trainees, during which he would calmly pull his severed hand out of a jar of embalming fluid and explain that at night it would roam the labs, looking for unsafe experiments. It was actually Haffenblach who would roam the labs at night, leaving the hand sitting on any work he found to be unreasonably unsafe. These and other Haffenblach hijinks made the lab an exciting, and safe, place to work.

Gerald Haffenblach will be missed by many. May he rest in peace.

An unidentified testing associate died yesterday while evaluating the self-cleaning recumbent urinal prototype in the home products lab. Project Supervisor Gene Wallis called the incident “regrettable” and called for increased vigilance in the selection of testing associates.