Edward Oatman Vandercook (1897–1985) was the eldest son of company founder R.O. Vandercook. After discharge from the military in 1918, he along with his brothers Fred and Dave began working for their father. The elder Vandercook retired by 1940 and E.O. Vandercook, who was general manager, became president and headed the company until it was sold to Illinois Tools Works in 1968. Like his father, He was active in his industry and had been president of the National Printing Equipment Association. E.O. Vandercook died in 1985 at age 88, he was survived by his wife and three daughters, two of whom married men who joined the company: Dick Tower, NYC Sales Manager, and Bill Critchlow, VP of Marketing.
Mr. Critchlow adds: “… He and his wife Astrid did travel a great deal, and Ed enjoyed filming those trips. While the SP15 and 20 were being engineered, they had not yet been named. I picked Ed and his wife up at O’Hare, and on the way home he said ‘I have thought up the names of the new presses- the Simple Precision-15 and the Simple Precision-20.’ Since I was involved in the marketing, I told him that I thought using the word “simple” on a Vandercook press would be a tough sell! Thank goodness he agreed, hence SP15 and 20….”
See profiles of R.O. Vandercook, D.D. Vandercook and F.R. Vandercook. See also: Bill Critchlow and Stanley Metza.