[Trombone-l] Sad news

[Eric Swanson]

On Jun 5, 2009, at 7:22 AM, Eric Edwards wrote:

> It is with deep regret that I pass on the news that Mr. Orla Ed Thayer
> passed away yesterday morning.
>

Mrs. Thayer asked that one of us post his obituary to the Trombone-l:

Orla Ed Thayer, the famed inventor of the Thayer Axial-Flow valve for  
brass musical instruments, passed away on June 3 at his home in  
Albany, Oregon. He had reached the ripe age of 89 with more  
improvements for brass instruments in his productive mind.

“The Thayer Axial-Flow Valve has become a popular replacement for the  
traditional rotary valve found on tenor and bass trombones with  
single and double attachments. Invented by Orla Ed Thayer and  
introduced in 1976, it has proven to be a great advancement in brass  
instrument technology. Many people believe the Thayer valve invention  
to be the most significant advancement in trombone design since the  
rotary valve was added (creating the F attachment) in the mid-1800s… 
Ed has made a great contribution to the world of brass playing, and  
brought fresh thought to instrument makers everywhere about the  
acoustics of brass instruments.” Quoted from the website, thayervalve- 
tribute.com, written by Marcel Schot.

Orla Ed Thayer is survived by his wife, Barbara, who welcomes hearing  
from their many friends.