John W. Guffey, Jr.’s legendary trajectory from humble beginnings in Youngstown, Ohio, to executive maverick and innovator in manufacturing included leadership roles at Garlock, Inc., General Tire & Rubber, Aeroquip and Carlisle Corp, and led to his role as chairman and chief executive at Coltec Industries.

Headquartered in New York City and later in Charlotte, North Carolina, after which it was acquired by B.F. Goodrich, Coltec Industries was a diversified manufacturer of aerospace, automotive and industrial products. Named chairman, president and chief executive officer in 1994, Guffey would sell off the less profitable automotive division, optimize core operations, differentiate from the competition, and invest in technology and supply chain systems to fuel growth through intense cost focus. Guffey would later lead the controversial, but synergistic, powerhouse merger of Coltec and B.F. Goodrich in 1999 that began over talks in a small Columbus, Ohio coffee shop with chairman and chief executive, Dave Burner.

Guffey would often reflect on his first factory visit at the age of 17 and resonated with the adage “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” In an address to graduate students at the Walker School of Business at Appalachian State he explained: “I have always been fascinated with the combination of human intelligence and energy, coupled with the power of machinery and technology leading to the creation of products that make our lives better. This fascination explains why I have spent my entire career working in the field of manufacturing.”

Throughout his career, Guffey admired and sought out criticism from his peers as well as the opinions from the men and women working in the plants. He would often walk the manufacturing floors to talk with employees, to listen to what they had to say, and to ask questions. One story goes that there was a problem with the equipment capacity that would require a substantial investment to fix. All the “suits” around conference tables were talking but getting nowhere. Frustrated, Guffey walked downstairs into the plant to ask a key machinist what he thought. This individual reported exactly what could be achieved with minimal investment and would later offer, “I used to come to work and hang my brain up in my locker. This is the first time I was able to bring my brain to work.”

Guffey’s greatest adversaries, including strong union negotiators, had a begrudging respect for his innate sense of fairness, capacity to synthesize problems, stealth judgment and desire to achieve mutual goals. “Dad didn’t need a corporate entourage to support a decision or to strike a deal. He was a swift and decisive problem solver, and his handshake was enough,” says son Mark Guffey, president of DX Seal in Warren, Ohio.

Guffey received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Youngstown State University in 1962. He liked to tell the story of how he wandered onto the campus one night, determined he would one day attend. He stopped at the first building he came across, the engineering school. Synchronistically, even though it was late, Guffey had an encounter with its Dean (Cherignon) who helped him fill out an application. He graduated top industrial engineer in his class.

Guffey faced business challenges with the same persistence and motivation he learned as a young man in high school and later in college. He was fond of quoting his beloved Springfield High School (Petersburg, Ohio) class of 1995 motto: “If you can’t find a path, make one.”

After retirement in Bluffton, South Carolina, and not unlike another the owner of the 1970s Remington Products company who famously said, “I liked the shaver so much I bought the company,” Guffey purchased Energy One America in 2008 after hiring the company to do some spray foam insulation work on his house. Curiosity — which Guffey believed was paramount to being a leader — about the product and its benefits led to his purchase of the company. From three employees, Energy One grew to 66 employees, and today there are over 200 team members led by company principal and chief executive, Clint Allen, an Energy One colleague and friend who bought the company in 2011.

Guffey was an avid reader, a student of world war history, and a passionate sailor of his 64-foot sloop, the Grand Imagineer, built in Bordeaux, France.  Guffey would say his greatest love was that of his wife, Monique, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Sharing laughs with friends at The Reserve on Lake Keowee in Sunset, South Carolina, and having a caprese salad and hamburger at his mountain club were among his simple pleasures.

Humble and proud of his roots, Guffey gifted anonymously to individuals or families in need, and believed in the mission of the Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, among other charitable groups. He established a professorship in engineering at Appalachian State University in Boone North Carolina, and scholarships for aspiring engineers at alma mater, Youngstown State, where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate. Guffey was also an active member of and sponsor in the Alcoholics Anonymous Community. At the time of his death, Guffey was sober 16.91 years, 202.96 months, 6,179 days and 148, 286 hours.

Surrounded by family, Guffey died on Christmas Day. Guffey is survived by his forever wife of 21 years, Monique Yellin Guffey of Sunset, South Carolina and Carol Wick Griffith, childhood sweetheart and mother of their two children, Mark Guffey and daughter Terri Potter Guffey of Warren, Ohio. He is also survived by five extraordinary grandchildren (John, Ryan, Danielle, Deanne and Addie) and three engaging great grandchildren (Colton, Barrett and Blayke).  “G” as Guffey was known to them, is their “blue star on the right.”