Industry veteran Howard B. Vreeland, Sr, dies at age 87

Howard B. Vreeland, Sr, co-founder and owner of Anderson & Vreeland Co. in Bryan, Ohio, died Friday in Community Hospitals and Wellness Center. He was 87. He died from complications of congestive heart failure, according to his family.

With Wesley Anderson, his longtime friend and business partner, he founded Anderson & Vreeland, which became the widespread distributor of plates and machinery for the packaging industry.

A Navy veteran of World War II and a graduate of Kingspoint Merchant Marine Academy, Vreeland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, in 1920. With a degree in hydraulic engineering, he began working for engineering firms, eventually moving to Ohio with the New Jersey firm Williamson and Co. He stayed in touch with Anderson, with whom he had worked at another firm as well as at Williamson, and in 1961 they decided to start their own company.

Vreeland served as vice president; Anderson as chairman of the board until 2001.

‘His integrity was fantastic,’ said Howard Vreeland, Jr, Vreeland's son, current chairman of the board of Anderson & Vreeland and most recent inductee to the FTA's Hall of Fame. ‘His treatment of the employees of the business was always at the forefront. They were all family to him.’

He served as vice president of the company for nearly 40 years, developing Anderson & Vreeland with an emphasis on service. He retired from his position in 2001, but became chairman of the board, serving until his full retirement in 2007.

His impact on the industry has been great. Vreeland was actively involved in the FTA. He served as vice chairman of the Solicitation Committee of the FTA, chairman of the board of trustees, was a workshop head for two years and received the group’s President’s Award in May 2002. He was a former director of the Graphic Preparatory Association (GPA), an association that awarded him its President’s Award in 1972. Howard also received the Marking Devices Association's President’s Award and was a member of TAPPI.

His involvement in family even took him to the baseball field - where he served as an umpire for the Bryan Baseball Association while the younger Howard was in Little League. Vreeland - who lettered in four sports in high school - didn't give his son any breaks. ‘He called me out a lot,’ Vreeland, Jr, said.

The elder Vreeland also served as a member of the Board of Public Affairs for Bryan.

Surviving are his son, Howard Vreeland, Jr; daughters, Patricia Coon and Alice L. Kuehner; seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Services are at 11:00 a.m. today in Wesley United Methodist Church, Bryan, Ohio.

The family suggests tributes to the Bryan Area Foundation or the American Diabetes Association.