Joel Spira, founder and owner of Lutron Electronics Co., Coopersburg, Pa., died April 8, at age 88, according to an article in eastern Pennsylvania’s The Morning Call. Details on surviving family members outside of his wife, Ruth, and daughter, Susan Hakkarainen, a senior V.P. at Lutron, were not available at press time.
In a business with so many new players from the semiconductor and electronics industries and a steady parade of new execs managing the lighting businesses of mega-conglomerates and then moving on, Joel Spira stood out for decades as a widely respected lighting industry icon. He was the consummate entrepreneur, a familiar face at all of the national lighting events, and a true legend in the lighting market.