duVal Radford Goldthwaite Jr.AGE: 86 • BrielleduVal Radford Goldthwaite, Jr., an inventor and pioneer of advanced manufacturing technologies used in the cooling of turbine engine components for aircraft engines and natural gas power generation, died on April 17. A longtime resident of Brielle, New Jersey, he was 86.Known to family and friends as Val, he was born on March 23, 1931 and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey. His parents, duVal Radford Goldthwaite and Mary Stringfellow Goldthwaite were both from Montgomery, Alabama. ChildhoodAs a boy, Val was creative and inventive spending much of his time woodworking in his shop, building things from gunstocks to small boats. From a young age, he was keenly interested in the world.Val frequently visited the Museum of Natural History with his mother and photographed nature. He developed a love of the outdoors, particularly hunting and fishing. This was strengthened during family summers spent near Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Val attended Choate Rosemary Hall, then Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, where he was captain of the Rifle Team and a New Jersey Junior State rifle champion. Following high school, Val served in the United States Navy from 1951-55. Val was an aviation radar instructor while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. He then attended Stevens Institute of Technology, studying mechanical engineering, before transferring to Lehigh University to study metallurgy. Inventor & EntrepreneurDuring his summers in college, Val worked at General Ceramics Corporation where he invented and patented the Memory Core Handler, a device that enabled high-speed, automated testing of the ferrite memory core used in early IBM computers.Following Lehigh University, Val identified the potential of a new and revolutionary "spark machining" process known as electrical discharge machining (EDM). He correctly anticipated that this emerging and non-conventional metalworking process would be transformational in certain forms of manufacturing. Val's interest in EDM led him in 1962 to start Metem Corporation, an advanced machining and engineering company that serves the aerospace and natural gas power generation industries. The company's first facility was in East Hanover, New Jersey, before moving its operation to Parsippany, where it has been based since 1968. Metem's specialized work largely involves drilling cooling holes into gas turbine blades and vanes, thereby enabling turbines to run hotter, longer and with lower emissions. Under Val's leadership, Metem pioneered advanced applications in EDM, Wire EDM and other non-conventional metalworking techniques such as Electro-Chemical Machining and Shaped Tube Electrolyte Machining.Metem also had a subsidiary Tech/Nautic, that produced marine engines and in 1970 acquired Seamaster Marine, Inc. Val was a mentor to many. His guidance and generosity served as a catalyst to help fellow entrepreneurs survive, succeed and prosper. He was quick to lend a hand to those in need and reveled in the success of those he helped. FamilyIn 1954, Val married Lynn Rose whom he met on the high school rifle team. The couple had three children. Val and Lynn divorced. In 1978 Val married Juliet Morgan Riley who predeceased him in 2010.Val is survived by a sister, Ward Griffiths of Tenafly, New Jersey; a brother, Richard Goldthwaite of Lake Bluff, Illinois; three sons - Scott Goldthwaite of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, Steven Goldthwaite of Mendham, New Jersey, and Carlton Goldthwaite of Raleigh, North Carolina and eight grandchildren. Personal InterestsThroughout his life, Val spent considerable time working in his shop and on his boats and house. He loved to reengineer, redesign and rebuild anything that captured his interest. Val was always in pursuit of excellence and able to consistently call out the best in those around him. Val spent a tremendous amount of time with his three sons shooting, fishing, and working in their shop together. He and his wife Julie enjoyed rebuilding their late 1700's home in Brielle and raising their beloved English Pointers. Over the years, Val was a strong supporter of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan, Red Bank Veterinary Hospital and Mount Sinai West Hospital.Donations in Val's memory to Mount Sinai West Hospital to support the research of Dr. Richard L. Whelan, would be appreciated. Donations can be mailed to: Mount Sinai Health Systems, 425 West 59th Street, Suite 7B, New York, NY 10019. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, June 10. Details will be available at www.baileyfuneral.com