Obituary: Betty James, Slinky founder
By Staff -- Playthings, 11/24/2008 7:58:00 AM
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa.—Betty M. James, the Toy Industry Hall of Fame member who co-founded Slinky maker James Industries, died on November 20. She was 90.
In 1945, James and her then husband Richard, founded James Industries to market the “walking” spring toy that Richard, a naval engineer, had “invented” two years prior and that Betty is credited with naming “Slinky.” Fourteen years later, Betty James became James Industries’ president and CEO—posts she went on to hold for nearly 50 years while at the same time raising six children—when Richard “left her to follow a religious cult in Bolivia,” according to the Associated Press.
James sold the company to Poof Products (today known as Poof-Slinky) in 1998.
In a statement, Poof-Slinky said: "The Poof-Slinky family mourns the passing of Betty James, co-founder and manufacturer of Slinky spring toys. We honor her memory and commitment to the toy industry in the face of personal challenges.
"We are pleased to continue the expansion of Slinky distribution to future generations."
James was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 2001. She was the third woman to enter the Hall, having been preceded by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler and Alexander Doll founder Beatrice Alexander Behrman.
The cause of James' death was not announced.
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