Industry mourns three leaders

Alan B. Simpkins, founder of Delcon Corp. and one of the first nominees for Telephony's Ray Blain OSP Achievement Award, died Sept. 10.

Simpkins, 74, was vice president and a board member of System Studies Inc., Santa Cruz, Calif., and had served on the board of directors of Plantronics Corp., also in Santa Cruz. He founded Delcon, which manufactured ultrasonic leak detectors, and in 1969--after selling Delcon to Hewlett-Packard--founded Dynatel Corp., which manufactured innovative outside plant fault and cable locators. Some 10 years later, Simpkins sold Dynatel to 3M Corp. Simpkins' sons, Robert A. and William D. Simpkins, are the co-founders of System Studies. His daughter, Diane S. Bordoni, is the chief financial officer.

Ellis M. Weld Jr., who started in the telephone industry with his dad's business, Commercial Cord Co., Clifton Springs, N.Y., died Sept. 4 in an auto accident. He was 71. Between Commercial Cord, which was sold to General Cable Corp., and EJ Telephone Supply, Stamford, Conn., which he founded, Weld had been in the telephone industry for more than 40 years.

Ronald Bittner, 55, former chairman and chief executive officer of Frontier Corp., passed away Aug. 31. He was being treated for a brain tumor.