Obituary sent by RHODES FUNERAL HOME of St. Petersburg, Florida undated FRANK H. SLEEPER - date of death - November 04, 1937 FRANK H. SLEEPER, NOTED INVENTOR, TAKEN BY DEATH RESIDENT CREDITED WITH MANY INVENTIONS DURING LONG CAREER, DIES IN CITY FRANK H. SLEEPER, 74, noted inventor of machine making apparatus, and president of SLEEPER and HARTLEY, Inc., Worcester, Mass, designer and builders of high speed automatic spring making machinery, continuous wire drawing equipment, wire-nail machinery and wire mill equipment, died last night at 10:20 o’clock at a local hospital following a long illness. MR. SLEEPER, who designed and patented more than 50 (Note: 500) different machines used in many important industries today, came to St. Petersburg for the first time 23 years go as a winter visitor. Thirteen years ago he purchased a home at 1829 Fifth Street South and made this city his permanent home. His inventions made possible many of the modern day devices used on automobiles and thousands of other machines. ACTIVE UNTIL DEATH He was one of the first members of the Mirror Lake Shuffleboard club here, and was an active inventor up to the time of his death. He had just recently applied for patents on several new devices. Born Nov. 26, 1862, at Coaticook, Quebec, Can., MR. SLEEPER early became an inventor, at the age of 22 patenting a lifting jack for use on railroads, that later made a fortune for the man to whom he sold it. He was the son of WRIGHT SLEEPER, a pioneer of the West during the early days, and an inventor and manufacturer himself. From his father he probably inherited his amazing photographic mind which he possessed. SON OF PIONEER MR. SLEEPER’S father had journeyed to Wisconsin in a covered wagon and lived between two warring tribes of Indians. He had many narrow escapes from death. An amazing determination to create new things was possessed by MR. SLEEPER. At 19 years of age he nearly lost his eyesight when a toy cannon exploded sending powder into his eyes. Despite the fact that doctors said he would never see, he found one specialist who, by a remarkable operation, saved the sight of one eye. He accomplished wonders with his one eye. One of the outstanding accomplishments that MR. SLEEPER is credited with is the invention of a machine to make the tiny spiral of wire that made the EDISON Mazda electric light globe possible. MANY INVENTIONS Other of the many inventions that MR. SLEEPER designed and later manufactured include a spring coiling machine, a screw jack, an alternating current generator, several types of engines, machine for making coil springs, wire rail machine, wire coiling machine, machine for making jack washers, nail making machines, continuous wire drawing machines, armor or tube forming machine for making BX cables, and many others. MR. SLEEPER, after working at small salaried jobs for some time, went into business for himself 30 years ago in Worcester, Mass., a business which at the time of his death is one of the largest of its kind. FUNERAL MONDAY MR. SLEEPER is survived by his widow, MRS. LILLA A. HOPKINSON SLEEPER; three daughters, MRS. RAYMOND RUSSELL, Worcester; MRS. WILLIAM WELCH, Worcester, and MRS. LOTTA BLOUNT, West Brookfield. FRANK SLEEPER Funeral services for FRANK SLEEPER, widely known inventor, who died Thursday at a local hospital, will be held this afternoon at 2 o’clock at the JOHN S. RHODES Funeral Chapel. The REV. GEORGE GILMOUR will officiate and burial will be made in Royal Palm cemetery FRANK H. SLEEPER Funeral services for FRANK H. SLEEPER, 74, inventor of machine making apparatus, who died Thursday night at a local hospital will be held Monday afternoon at the JOHN S. RHODES Chapel. REV. GEORGE GILMOUR officiated. Burial will be in Royal Palm cemetery.