Timber Dick Dies from Crash Injuries

One local company that is feeling the effects of the weakened market is Muth Lumber, an Ironton company that takes cut hardwood lumber from sawmills and bakes it in kilns for other companies to make into wood products. Hardwoods are used for furniture, doors, trim, flooring and many other products.

Dick Muth, who owns the third-generation business along with his brother Tim, has been in the business for four decades.

He thinks this is one of the toughest times they’ve seen in the industry in part because the common red oak isn’t in demand and because manufacturing companies have taken their operations overseas.

One of the most commonly harvested trees in Appalachia is the Red Oak, which is a hardwood. He said the demand for Red Oak is minimal.

“That is dead as a doornail out there, I’m talking about all over the world,” Muth said, adding that some of the forests in the region are half Red Oak. “When that’s the case and it’s not sellable, that’s why there is such trouble in the industry.”

The Ohio State University and the Ohio Division of Forestry survey backs up Muth with reports that the market for Red Oak market is “almost non-existent in flat cut” and that “Red Oak is moving slowly.”

The family of Timber Dick wishes to inform the public that their beloved husband and father has passed away. Mr. Dick, who was to be recognized by NASA later this month for his groundbreaking design for an ultra high-efficiency engine, was rescued by good Samaritans from a fiery car accident on Saturday, March 29. His injuries were severe.

The staff at the University of Colorado Hospital Burn Unit did everything possible to save his life, but he died on Thursday, April 10, 2008. Mr. Dick was the President of Tendix Development and also worked with the University of Denver's School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Mr. Dick's wife, Annette Tillemann-Dick, and the couple's 11 children and two grandchildren expressed their deep gratitude to the public and their friends for their prayers and support during this challenging time. Funeral services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 610 Coors St. in Lakewood, CO, 80401,on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 10 a.m.