Longtime Requarth Lumber leader passes

A member of the family that has owned and overseen the longtime Dayton business Requarth Lumber died Monday.

Charles "Ty" Edward Requarth died at age 88 in Dayton, according to an obituary published today in the Dayton Daily News.

After serving in the Korean War, Requarth joined his brother Harold and brother-in-law Jim Pippenger as the fourth-generation owners and managers of the family business on Monument Avenue, the obit says.

While still in high school, Requarth began his career at the F.A. Requarth Co. in 1945 by nailing boxes in the mill, the obit said. After returning from Korea in 1953, he worked in the drafting room preparing shop drawings for architectural millwork, according to the obit.

Requarth Lumber was founded in 1860 by Henry Meyer and Frederick August Requarth, the great-great grandfather of company’s current president Alan Pippenger and vice president John Requarth, the company’s web site says.

The business has been at Monument and Sears Street since 1895 and is famous locally for having sold spruce wood to the Wright Brothers as they built their early flyers.

Requarth was preceded in death by his son, Jay Requarth, and his brother Harold Requarth.

Survivors include longtime partner Janice Neiderman; daughter Julie Requarth; son and daughter-in-law John and Cindy Requarth; grandson Joseph Requarth; sister Louise Pippenger; sister-in-law Cherriann Requarth; and nieces and nephews.

He graduated from Fairview High School in 1947, joined the Navy Reserves and attended Miami University. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Korea, where he served in the infantry and fought on the front lines, his obituary says.

He ran the company’s millwork operations until his retirement in 1994.

“Warm and engaging, Charlie was a popular and much loved friend, family member and businessman,” his obit says. “At the shop, his millwork expertise was respected and sought-after on projects across the Miami Valley.”

A visitation for friends and family is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. today at Westbrock Funeral Home, 1712 Wayne Ave., Dayton.

A memorial service will be held at the funeral home at 10 a.m. Friday, followed by burial at Memorial Park Cemetery, 8135 N. Dixie Dr., Dayton. Donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation, the obit says.

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