Evan Nord; philanthropist & founder of Nordson Corp.
Hyfler/Rosner
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Alana Baranick and Richard M. Peery
Plain Dealer Reporters
Evan W. Nord, 84, a philanthropist who co-founded what
became Nordson Corp., which has its world headquarters in
Westlake, died Monday in Columbia, S.C.
Nord pioneered the design and manufacture of the tungsten
carbide flat-spray nozzle for spraying pigmented coating
materials, one of the keystones of the Nordson industrial
equipment empire.
In 1954 he teamed with his father, Walter, and brother Eric
T. to start Nordson as a division of U.S. Automatic Co. in
Amherst to manufacture airless spray equipment. A dozen
years later the division absorbed its parent company.
Today, Nordson has 3,500 employees worldwide and 652 in
Northeast Ohio. It sells industrial spray application
systems for paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants
throughout the world.
Nord moved to Blythewood, S.C., after retiring from daily
operations at the Amherst plant in 1978.
In March 2002, when Nord retired from the Nordson board of
directors, Worth magazine named him the wealthiest person in
Columbia. The value of his Nordson stock was estimated at
$116 million.
Nord served as president of the Nordson Foundation. He and
his wife, Cynthia, were committed to helping their
communities and the disadvantaged.
They established the Evan and Cindy Nord Fund with the
Lorain County Community Foundation.
Nearly $600,000 from the fund was awarded to Common Ground,
also known as the Cindy Nord Center for Renewal, a
Vermilion-area retreat started by the Humility of Mary
religious order.
Nord, a member of many social-service boards, helped launch
the Oberlin Early Childhood Center, the Oberlin Community
Center and the W.G. Nord Mental Health Center. He led the
restoration of historic buildings and homes.
The Amherst native graduated from Amherst High School in
1937.
He was inducted into the Amherst Schools Distinguished
Alumni Gallery of Success in 1992. He received a bachelor's
degree in mechanical engineering from the Case School of
Applied Science in 1941.
He was a teenager when he started working for U.S. Automatic
Corp., which was owned by his father. He joined the Navy in
1944 and served in both the At lantic and the Pacific during
World War II. After the war, he returned to the family
business and became vice president of manufacturing before
starting Nordson.
He continued his community service as a volunteer and
benefactor in South Carolina. He served on the boards of the
Carolina Children's Home, South Carolina State Museum and
Heathwood Hall Foundation. He was a charter member of the
Central Carolina Community Foundation and donated $40
million to the organization.
"We're doing it to set an example," Nord said in a 1992
interview. "We're using our children's inheritance and we're
using our inheritance and the money we've worked for and
sweated for to try to make a difference."
Nord and his wife lived a quiet life on their 150-acre horse
farm just north of Columbia. In 1995, they were named
Humanitarians of the Year by the United Way of the Midlands.
He is survived by his wife; sons, Eric, Bruce and Ethan;
daughters, Katie Peterson and Allyson Wandtke; his brother,
of Oberlin; and nine grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Sunday at Finney
Chapel, 90 N. Professor St., Oberlin.