Blog

May 23, 2023

Clare Leon Milton Jr., chemical engineer and driving force behind classical music on WBJC

Clare Leon Milton Jr., a chemical engineer and inventor who was among the

Clare Leon Milton Jr., a chemical engineer and inventor who was among the founders of classical music programming on WBJC-FM, died Thursday of heart failure at his Ten Hills home. He was 104.

Born in Manistique, Michigan, and raised in Saint Joseph, Michigan, he was the son of Clare Leon Milton Sr., a high school principal, and Frances Thornton Mitchell Milton, a teacher.

After attending Michigan schools, he earned a scholarship to Harvard University and later attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the old Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

During World War II, Mr. Milton worked at Goodrich Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio, and developed methods for purifying compounds.

His work increased the quality of insulation on certain types of wires, including one that helped protect ships in cold waters.

Years later, on a tour of the old Western Electric Works in Southeast Baltimore, he picked up a piece of wire he helped patent.

His son, Dr. Donald K. Milton, recalled his father saying of the wire, "I wish I had a penny for every mile of wire I coated with the insulation I developed."

In 1945 he married Chloe DeLong, a sculptor and industrial artist. They met at a Socialist Party meeting.

Mr. Milton joined Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda and directed the development of amputees’ gloves that closely resembled human hands. He worked at its Prosthetics Research Laboratory.

He then joined the Armed Forces Medical Procurement Agency on Long Island, New York.

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Mr. Milton moved to Baltimore in 1951 and began working for the Eastern Venetian Blind Co., later the Eastern division of Roper Corp. As vice president in charge of engineering, he worked on injection molding plastics and coating steel.

Mr. Milton ended his career as vice president of development for Slack Associates Inc., a builder of equipment for testing satellites, working on hardware related to night-vision goggles.

"He was fascinated by thermodynamics and heat transfer," his son, Donald, said.

Mr. Milton also designed equipment to preserve books damaged by water, insects or mold. His work was later used in the Library of Congress and other institutions. He was solely or jointly responsible for 12 patents.

He was a member of First Unitarian Church of Baltimore for more than 60 years. The church created the Clare Milton Stewardship Award for a church member "who represents the highest ideals of generosity and service."

Mr. Milton served as his congregation's treasurer and president.

He recalled in a church publication that the congregation was once confronted with a leaking roof.

"There was a vigorous debate over whether to apply for federal funds for the repairs, a move Clare opposed," the publication wrote. "Various solutions were debated, including a copper coating that would have cost a half-million dollars, but Clare had other ideas: ‘I came up with a cheaper solution, and we did it ourselves,’ involving a coat of urethane and coat of acrylic on top of that."

Mr. Milton was active in the Society of Plastic Engineers and was the group's national treasurer. He received the Baltimore-Washington section's Lifetime Achievement Award.

He had a lifelong interest in civil rights and social justice.

In the biographical sketch published by his church, he said: "Staying busy is the key. As to keeping my mind sharp, I don't think I have time to let it rust."

He enjoyed reading magazines, detective novels and watching British mystery shows.

"Physically, I have always walked a lot, and until the last few years there were few who would like [to try] to keep up with me," he said in the church interview.

He sang in his church choir and the chorus of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He kept a large recorded music library.

William G. "Hotzie" Hotz Sr. was a Baltimore Sun photographer and Navy veteran.

Mr. Milton was a classical music buff. In the early 1950s, he joined with other aficionados to volunteer for and staff classical music broadcasts on WBJC-FM, then located in a room at Baltimore City College.

In 1952, Mr. Milton was part of a group of broadcasters from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. He often ran the Monday evening programming at the station.

His son recalled that the volunteer radio programmers entered City College after classes had ended.

"My father had to light a match to find the light switch," his son Donald said. "But they brought classical music to FM radio."

Survivors include a son, Dr. Donald K. Milton of University Park; two daughters, Linda Elizabeth Corcoran of Catonsville and Marilyn Frances Milton of Woodlawn; a brother, Kirby Milton of Fishers, New York; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

After the 1995 death of Mr. Milton's first wife, Chloe DeLong, he married Elizabeth "Betty" Pasternak Townsend, a social worker who founded the Southwest Senior Center in Baltimore. She died Feb. 13.

Mr. Milton is also survived by his wife's daughters, Susan Townsend of Takoma Park and Marjory Townsend of Wenonah, New Jersey; a son, Mark Townsend of Laconia, New Hampshire; and four step-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. July 1 at the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore at Charles and Franklin streets.