LeHigh Valley, Penn -- April 13, 2015 -- Joel Spira, who brought the light dimmer switch to households across the nation and transformed his Lutron Electronics Company into a leading manufacturer of lighting controls, died of natural causes on April 8, 2015. He was 88.
The Coopersburg, Pennsylvania-based company, which confirmed the death, said he had been working with company engineers on a new product the night before he died. Spira, who patented an electronic light dimming device, developed the company into a worldwide distributor of motorized shades and lighting and temperature controls. He led the company for 54 years and most recently was chairman and director of research. The Morning Call said Lutron currently employs 1,100 people in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.
"Someday I'll be gone," he told the newspaper in 2012. "But dimmers will be with us forever."
The privately held company said Spira is credited with more than 300 design and utility patents in the United States. The company now holds 2,700 patents across the globe A company history posted on its website said that by 1959, Spira had developed a solid-state dimmer for incandescent lighting that was practical for home use. He and his wife, Ruth, incorporated Lutron two years later, and set out to mass-market the product.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our Chairman and Founder, Joel S. Spira. He was our leader, our guide, our mentor, our strategist and our friend. He was so much to so many, and felt that each and every Lutron employee is a part of his family," said Michael W. Pessina, President of Lutron Electronics Company. "Joel Spira brought this company from a dining room table in New York City to making Lutron a global leader with over 2,000 patents, and products that are sold in over 100 countries around the world."
Pessina said the Spira led the Lutron companies and the Lutron team successfully for over 53 years and wanted to carry on the strong corporate framework and our principles. Pessina added, "Joel Spira always said that Lutron’s accomplishments are due to the contributions of so many people at Lutron."
