Wilbur Lee Ogden Jr., loving and devoted husband and father of five, at the age of 95 experienced one final change of address as he entered into his heavenly home on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 in Canton, Ohio. In so doing, he was reunited with Shirley, his beloved wife who had entered into glory on August 14, 2021. While Will's response at that time to the passing of Shirley from death unto life was "I guess she has a new Boyfriend now," he may now reclaim that position as he and Shirley are now both more alive than they ever were here on earth.

Will was born on March 6, 1928 in McLeansboro, Illinois, the third of four children to Wilbur Lee Ogden, Sr. and Iva Ogden nee Moss. Wilbur Ogden Sr. was a descendant of John (The Pilgrim) Ogden who emigrated from England and arrived in North America in 1640, ultimately settling in the English colony of New Jersey. As Wilbur Sr. was a mathematics and physics teacher, Will's family moved several times as he grew up. They lived successively in the Illinois communities of Hillsdale, Nauvoo (renting a house from the Mormon community on the grounds of the Mormon temple there) until finally settling in Serena in 1942, about 70 miles southwest of Chicago, where his father was a high school principal and superintendent of schools. After two years of service in the US army, Will, a 1945 graduate of Serena High School, attended the two-year electronics program of DeForest Training School (which later became DeVry University), graduating with an associate's degree as well as the highest grade average achieved at that time. Will married Shirley Iverson of Norway, Illinois, a 1948 graduate of Serena High School, on October 8, 1950 and in 2020, they celebrated 70 years of marriage.

After their marriage, Shirley and Wilbur, first lived in St. Charles for one year and then moved to Aurora where they successively lived at three addresses for over 66 years before relocating to Canton in 2019. Together they raised five children, Steven Ogden of Fairview, Texas; Thomas Ogden of Canton, Ohio; Daniel Ogden of Waco, Texas; Rebecca Ogden of Canton, Ohio and Jonathan Ogden of Algonquin, Illinois. Will was a loving father and family man who adored his wife and his children. He faithfully provided for his family, who although not wealthy in terms of physical assets, were always cared for and were never truly in want.

Will was an astute and successful electrical engineer and business man. From 1950 – 1960, Will worked as a project engineer for Dukane Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of electronic technology, including sound systems, in St. Charles, Illinois. He was subsequently promoted to chief engineer, in which position he functioned from 1960 – 1967. In 1967, Will was hired to start a company called BRK Electronics in Aurora that was funded by early venture capitalists, the first letters of their last names forming the name of the company. The goal of the company was the successful development, patenting and market distribution of a battery-operated smoke detector. Will became the inventor and developer of the battery-operated smoke detector, a singular contribution that ranks as one of the most important residential and commercial articles of all time. Will and a co-engineer developed the technology of the battery-operated smoke detector and he worked closely with Underwriters Laboratory (UL) to develop the technical specifications and testing protocols for the early smoke detector. Working with Underwriters Labs, he obtained the first UL listing ever provided for a battery-operated smoke detector, for which he established standards later adopted by UL as well as the National Fire Protection Association. He also worked with various National Building Code organizations to require smoke detectors in all new residences. While Will holds six US patents and one German patent for his efforts, he did not own the patents. As BRK Electronics was progressively blended into larger companies, the latest generation is now known as First Alert, the world's largest manufacturer of home security devices.

If one looks at the back of a First Alert smoke detector, it notes this device is a BRK brand from Aurora, Illinois.

In 1975, Will left BRK, to become the co-founder, along with another engineer, of Fyrnetics, located in Elgin, Illinois. He continued the always improving development and manufacture of smoke detectors, with the detectors then being manufactured in Hong Kong. Fyrnetics outcompeted BRK in some markets and replaced BRK equipment in many Sears's stores throughout the country. After 5 years with Fyrnetics, Will turned over the company to his Hong Kong manufacturer and began full time work at his church. From 1981 - 1984, he worked as the Vice President and Board of Directors Secretary for Janin Group in Aurora that designed and distributed medical products and procedures. In 1984, Will founded Amwork Systems, Inc. in Aurora that provided data entry, data conversion and litigation support services for a variety of clients such as law firms and government entities. He oversaw the operations of Amwork until he retired in 2013 at the age of 85, at which time he turned over the company to his son Tom, who was already running company operations.

As was the case with Shirley, Will's passion and first priority in his life for the past 73+ years was his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, with whom he is now seated in heaven, and his desire was for others to share in this love for and relationship with Jesus. This included foremost his family of whom he wanted all to have an abiding love for Jesus. Although Will was a talented and creative electrical engineer and businessman, his business success and acumen were significantly overshadowed by his devotion to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his commitment to know God and make Him known through ministry to both those in the church as well as those outside. As a born again Christian, he was very active in his churches as a deacon, an elder and a teacher/pastor. He had a passion for leading people into a transformational relationship with Jesus. While attending St. Olaf's Lutheran Church in Aurora, he founded the Fisherman's Club (fishers of men as Jesus spoke of) as a men's outreach ministry of the church. Will sang in the choir (occasional soloist), was president of the Lutheran Brotherhood in the church, along with Shirley taught Sunday School, was the Sunday School Superintendent and together with his wife were the youth directors. He started and directed the Youth Center in downtown Aurora along the Fox River, where churched and unchurched youth could participate in games, have refreshments and attend Bible studies.

In 1964, he founded the Aurora chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International and was president until 1974. He worked in association with an organization out of the Bronx, New York, sponsoring recovering drug addicts who lived for a time in the basement of his house. Beginning in 1966, Will and Shirley began hosting a Monday night Bible study and prayer meeting in their home that was packed with attendees for many years and that would attract people not only from surrounding cities and states, but even international speakers who visited more than once. In 1968, he was a founding member of the Laymen's Team for Christ, which developed into Hope Fellowship Church. In 1970, Will, along with Jerry Harvey and Dave Valdez, acquired a residence house on Root Street in Aurora and named it the Mustard Seed House. This ministry served and provided for Christian youth to be discipled on both a resident and non-resident basis. In 1982, Will and Dan Haas formed Aurora Community Church, which had a very effective ministry in Aurora for 30 years. One ministry of the Church was Covenant Christian School, of which Will was a very strong advocate. Will also served on the board of directors for the Pregnancy Information Center in Aurora. After the closing of Aurora Community Church, Will and Shirley faithfully attended Calvary West Church for 9 years and built many

wonderful friendships. Will, along with Shirley, volunteered as Christian counsellors and mentors to a multitude of people for many years. He prayed for the physical healing of many people from infants to adults and saw many miracles as God's healing touch impacted many lives, including the restoration of sight for a young girl. Will and Shirley positively influenced the lives of countless individuals, many of whom we may never know. But their legacy will live on and we are so very blessed to have known them.

Will was preceded in death by Shirley as well as his parents Wilbur and Iva Ogden, his brothers Kenneth and David and his sister Leona. He is survived by his children Steven, Thomas, Daniel and his wife Carol, Rebecca, and Jonathan and his wife Rose, parents to Will and Shirley's granddaughters Aliyah and Keira, who were the loves of his life. A memorial service for both Will and Shirley will be conducted on Saturday, July 29, at 11 AM at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 10 N. Edgelawn Drive, in Aurora with Dan Haas officiating. A visitation will held at the church beginning at 10 AM and a reception will follow at 1 PM at the Fireside Grille in Sugar Grove. Interment with military honors will be a private ceremony at the Fox River Cemetery in Norway, LaSalle County. All that knew Will and Shirley, fellowshipped with them and/or were impacted by their lives through the many years are most certainly welcome to join the family for a time of remembrance and a homegoing celebration of their lives as they have changed addresses, entered and been transformed into glory and have exchanged corruptible for incorruptible.

A memorial donation may be made to Hope Ministries International, P.O. Box 20456, Canton, Ohio 44701.

Condolence's may be left for the family through the online guestbook HERE .