Ralph Wareham, ASQ Founding Member, Dies

ASQ founding member, past president, and historian Ralph E. Wareham died February 27, 2006, in Naples, Florida. He was 91.

Wareham’s career in quality began in the late 1930s when he established a quality control program for General Electric in Schenectady, New York. Wareham—along with W. Edwards Deming, Eugene Grant, and Holbrook Working—was one of the major contributors to the Stanford University Intensive Courses in Quality Control, which became the basis for War Production Board courses on quality control held during the 1940s. In 1945 he established a consulting firm specializing in statistical quality control.

Wareham played a prominent role in the American Society for Quality’s early history. When ASQ was founded February 16, 1946, through the merger of 17 local societies, Wareham was elected executive secretary. Two years later he became president, a position he held until 1950.

In 1987 Wareham became ASQ’s historian and in 1999 received the Lifetime Achievement Award—the only one granted in the Society’s 60-year history. Wareham’s award citation reads:

“The (ASQ) Board recognizes the outstanding contribution of Ralph E. Wareham throughout the 52 years of our existence. Wareham’s efforts have taken our Society and profession from its infancy to our current level of public acceptance. His leadership and greatly appreciated service are recognized today and set an example for all of us to follow in the future.”

In 2001, ASQ awarded Wareham the Distinguished Service Medal—its highest level of recognition for service.

Wareham is survived by his wife of 17 years, Cora; his daughter, Penelope Boardman, and her husband, Albert; and his son, Ronald Wareham, and his wife, Alice.

The family has asked that memorials be made to the Hospice of Naples, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, Florida 34105-3847 or to the First Presbyterian Church, 250 Sixth Street South, Naples, Florida 34105-3847.