Samuel Arthur Rea

SAMUEL ARTHUR REA, 92, of Lake Forest Place, Lake Forest, Ill., died on Friday, Oct. 22, 2010, at his home. He was born on Nov. 2, 1917, in Fort Wayne. He graduated from South Side High School, Fort Wayne, in 1936; and Wharton School of Finance & Commerce, University of Pennsylvania, in 1940. At university, he was president of his junior class and was elected to Phi Kappa Beta, Sphinx and Beta Gamma Sigma honors societies. He attended Yale Law School for one year before leaving for naval service in 1941. He served in the United States Navy from 1941 to 1945 as a pilot with the Naval Air Transport Services. He worked with the International Air Transport Association from 1945 to 1949 in Montreal, Canada, coordinating efforts of airlines and governments to establish uniform operating procedures for international air transport. In 1949, he returned to Fort Wayne to work at Rea Magnet Wire Co. He served as president of Rea Magnet Wire from 1954 until 1960, when the company was sold to the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa). After leaving Rea Magnet Wire, he became an independent business broker and retirement plan consultant. In 1968, he founded Indiana Capital Corporation, a venture capital firm. He was active in Republican politics, having served on State and National Finance Committees and as Delegate to State and National Republican Conventions. He served for five terms as an elected member of the House of Representatives for the State of Indiana from 1963 to 1972. He was Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and took a leadership role in state tax policy. In 1962, he served as a consultant to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in Washington D.C. under the Kennedy Administration. For many years he was active in civic activities in Fort Wayne. In 1955, he was the founder and the first president of the Fort Wayne Fine Arts Foundation (now Arts United, the third oldest united nonprofit arts fund in the United States) and was a trustee of Wabash College. He served on various community boards such as the YMCA and the United Fund. He was also a member of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. He was an avid skier in the early days of U.S. skiing and later became an active tennis player. Flying was a lifetime passion. He was married to the former Eleanor Appel of Indianapolis and subsequently to the former Elizabeth Ellis of Milwaukee. He is survived by his sister, Sally Rea Oberhelman of Naples, Fla.; children, Samuel A. Rea Jr. of Toronto, Canada, Barbara Rea Pearson of Bethlehem, Pa., Polly Rea of Traverse City, Mich., Scott Rea of Birmingham, Mich., and James Rea of Washington, D.C; and stepsons, Charles Zimmerman of Salt Lake City, Utah and Robert Zimmerman of Minneapolis, Minn.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Service is 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010, in the Sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church, 300 W. Wayne St., Fort Wayne. In lieu of flowers, send donations to Arts United, 303 E. Main St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802. Arrangements by Klaehn, Fahl & Melton Funeral Home, Wayne Street Chapel, 420 W. Wayne Street. Please visit www.klaehnfahlmelton.com