Borje Wahlstrom Dies at Age 84 in Pennsylvania

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P. Borje Wahlstrom, 84, died at home in Audubon, Pa., USA, on October 4. He was born in Harnas, Sweden, on September 29, 1926, and moved to the U.S. in 1965, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1991.

Graduating in 1949 from the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering, Wahlstrom joined the pulp and paper industry, working first for several pulp and paper companies and then a prominent machinery manufacturer. Always passionate about his work, he launched his own successful consulting business in 1973, from which he reluctantly retired in 2000.

During the course of his career, Wahlstrom was granted more than 50 patents and received a considerable number of awards. In 1992 he was recognized with the Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal, the highest honor in the pulp and paper industry, for his preeminent scientific and engineering achievements of proven commercial benefit to the industry.

Wahlstrom traveled the world for work and fun. His hobbies included tennis, table tennis, bridge, reading, dancing, and socializing. He was fiercely competitive and did nothing to hide it. He will be best remembered for his intellect, sense of humor, and exuberant optimism.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean, and is survived by three daughters and four grandchildren.