KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Wendt, a founder of the international door and window manufacturer Jeld-Wen Inc. and a contributor to conservative political causes in Oregon, has died. He was 79.
A company spokeswoman said Monday that Wendt died Saturday at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, where he had gone following a stroke in Klamath Falls.
Born in Dubuque, Iowa, Wendt moved to Klamath Falls in 1957 to manage a window parts mill.
When the company shut down the mill, he joined a group that bought the equipment and founded Jeld-Wen in 1960.