Powell, David George of Needham and formerly of Wellesley, died unexpectedly February 14, 2023. Husband of Elizabeth Parker Powell for nearly 60 years. Father of Parker D. Powell, Clare M. Powell, and Elizabeth Powell Dadzie; grandfather of Madeline, Alexander, Everett, Isaiah, Joshua, and Kaleb; younger brother of Malcolm Powell, MD; and son of deceased Chester and Madeline Powell. An engineer, entrepreneur and inventor, Dave was born in Huron, SD and grew up in Wilmette, IL. He graduated from Princeton with a BS and MS in aeronautical engineering in 1954 and 1955, respectively, and from the MIT Sloan School with an MSM in 1974.
He worked at Lockheed in Los Angeles, CA, Stanley Aviation in Denver, CO, GE's Missile and Space Division in Valley Forge, PA, then W.R. Grace’s R&D Construction Products Division in Cambridge, MA. While at Stanley Aviation, Dave invented the emergency escape capsule called “Yankee” for the B-58 aircraft to help pilots eject safely, which is now on exhibit at the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Museum at Dulles Airport. He also met Betsy during this time and they were married in 1963. They moved to Pennsylvania in 1964 and to Wellesley in 1970.
In 1976, he co-founded DMT (Diamond Machining Technology) with Betsy, which they managed together for 28 years with distributors in 32 countries as the leader of micron diamond abrasive hand tools. He has been a lifetime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EEA) for 31 years; a member of The Country Club; and a former director of the Worchester Center for Crafts. On Nantucket, he was a member of the Nantucket Anglers Club and Egan Maritime Institute. In 2016, Dave and Betsy moved to North Hill where Dave redeveloped and reinvigorated the Wood Shop. Over the past 40 years, Dave received 11 patents (several with Toshio Odate) in sharpening devices with his latest patent secured in 2020 as part of Plane Perfect, the company he founded in 2005 while in retirement. Dave was also a sailor, skier, and cyclist.
Memorial service will be held in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 79 Denton Rd. Wellesley on Saturday, March 4, at 1pm. Relatives and friends kindly invited. There will be a live broadcast of Dave’s memorial service. The camera will go live a few minutes before 1:00pm on March 4th at: standrewswellesley.org/worship/live/
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to St. Andrew’s Church at 79 Denton Rd, Wellesley, MA 02482 or North Hill Needham, 865 Central Ave, Needham, MA 02492 earmarked to The Wood Shop.