Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Bernard J. Wallis, Dearborn: Executive was leader in metal stamping

By Tom Greenwood / The Detroit News

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When it came to his family and his business, Bernard J. Wallis was "old school" all the way.

"My dad was a driven man who worked 12-hour days six days a week," said his son, Richard Wallis.

"He and my mom were old school, too, when it came to marriage. They were married for 67 years and lived in the same Dearborn house for 55 years. My dad ran the business and the family and my mother went along with it. It worked out well."

Mr. Wallis died from pneumonia on Friday, Aug. 26, 2005, at the Oakwood Commons Nursing Home, in Dearborn. He was 94.

Mr. Wallis was a prominent business man with a worldwide reputation for his developments in the metal stamping industry. He held more than 50 patents, including inventions for portable transfer die technology and heat exchange tooling. He was a graduate of the Henry Ford Trade School, the University of Detroit and the Detroit Institute of Technology.

Mr. Wallis started his business at age 37 when he quit his job and started a tool design business in the basement of his home with just a couple of drawing boards. By the time he retired, Livernois Engineering had more than $75 million in sales and employed more than 1,000 people.

Visitation will be 1-9 p.m. today at the Howe-Peterson Funeral Home, 22546 Michigan in Dearborn. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Anselm Catholic Church, at 17650 Outer Drive, north of Ford Road, in Dearborn Heights. Burial will be at St. Hedwig Cemetery in Dearborn Heights.

Survivors include his wife, Rose; a son, Richard; two daughters, Cynthia Haslem and Norma Wallis; eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

You can reach Tom Greenwood at (313) 222-2023 or tgreenwood@detnews.com.