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George G. Luce, Co-Founder of Luce, Schwab & Kase, Inc., Passes Away
February 11, 2011
George Griggs Luce, retired President and Co-Founder of Luce, Schwab & Kase of Fairfield, NJ, passed away on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at the age of 91.
Mr. Luce, a native of Illinois, obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois in 1942. He went to work for General Electric Company where he received his early air conditioning experience. After a stint with a Washington, D.C. Refrigeration Contractor, he came to New Jersey as Sales Engineer for Dunham-Bush.
In 1957, along with Frank Schwab and Bill Kase, George formed a company Luce, Schwab & Kase, Inc., which became a wholesale distributor of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating equipment and supplies The company, originally located in Newark, NJ, relocated to its present location in Fairfield, NJ in 1969.
Mr. Luce, a licensed Professional Engineer, served as Past President of the North Jersey Chapter of A.S.H.R.E. (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers), was a Director of the Garden State Chapter of Refrigeration Service Engineers Society, and was a National Director of ARW (Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Wholesalers.
Locally, in his community, George Luce served as past president of the West Essex Chamber of Commerce and for many years coached baseball and basketball for the Caldwell/West Caldwell Recreation Department.
Today Luce Schwab & Kase has four locations throughout New Jersey. James F. Luce, George's son, is President and C.E.O. of the company.
In addition to his son, James, George is survived by his loving daughters, Cynthia Luce Coords and Judith Tuttle Zollner and ten cherished grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held to celebrate the life of George G. Luce on February 18, 2012 at 11:00 am at the Calvary Evangelical Church
450 Fells Road Essex Fells, NJ. (973) 226-5272.
Internment will be private. Arrangements under the direction of Dancy Funeral Home in Caldwell, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, donations to New Life Christian School, P.O. Box 102, Olean, NY, 14760, would be appreciated.
Luce, Schwab & Kase Teams Up With Luxaire and Make-A-Wish to Help Local Child's Wish Come True
Courtesy of Luce Ends – Summer 2004
Recently, five-year-old Arelys had her fondest wish fulfilled through the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey. Arelys, along with her four siblings and her parents, enjoyed a Disney cruise during the last week in May.
Her wish was sponsored by Luxaire distributor, Luce, Schwab & Kase, Inc. and Luxaire Heating and Air Conditioning.
Luce, Schwab and Kase and Luxaire launched a partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, one of the most well-known and respected charitable organizations in the world, in 2002. The premise of the charity is to make the wishes of
children with life-threatening medical conditions come true. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted more than 110,000 wishes to children around the world since 1980.
To date, Luxaire has donated over $250,000 to the foundation, and donated nearly $12,000 to fund Arelys' wish.
Jim Luce, Vice President of Luce, Schwab and Kase, underscores the value of this relationship by stating, "We are very proud of our relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Every time we sell a Luxaire unit, we are making a contribution to a terrific foundation, that makes a difference in peoples lives. Our dealers have a wonderful opportunity to leverage this relationship to help grow their business."
Before leaving on her dream vacation, Arelys and her family stopped by the Luce, Schwab and Kase headquarters in Fairfield, where President George Luce and son Jim Luce held a bon voyage party.
The entire family was greeted with gifts and the check for their vacation, and the visit served as a wonderful opportunity for everyone at the company to meet and talk to Arelys.
Upon returning from the cruise, the family sent photos of their vacation to the branch headquarters, along with a picture of Arelys and her favorite Disney character, Pluto.
Arelys (center) and her family pictured with Make-A-Wish representative Candace Bates (left), Jim Luce (second from left), and George Luce (right).
