Myles J. McDonough of Worcester, MA and The Carnegie Abbey Club, Portsmouth, RI, the Founder and Chairman of the Board of FLEXcon Company, Incorporated and the most recent recipient of the Harvey Ball Smile Award died March 30, 2012. Mr. McDonough founded FLEXcon Company in 1956 at the age of 26 as a FLEXible CONverter of plastic films. He grew the company from a two-person garage operation in Spencer, MA to 1,500 employees worldwide. Today, FLEXcon is a leading manufacturer of pressure-sensitive film and adhesive products. Mr. McDonough was a classic hands-on “can do” entrepreneur who was constantly surprising his customers and his employees by making the impossible possible. He built his first equipment using parts from dismantled washing machines and created a multi-million dollar company in one lifetime with no venture capital and no bank loans. With characteristic humility, Mr. McDonough once summed up his management style as “I hire people smarter than myself and let them excel.”
Myles McDonough was born on May 14, 1929 in New York. He was Marist educated at Saint Anne de l’Hermitage, graduated Seton Hall University where he studied chemistry, and did graduate work at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. After graduation he worked for Johnson & Johnson for several years as a chemist before founding FLEXcon.
Mr. McDonough served on the boards of several Worcester institutions including Memorial Hospital, Worcester County National Bank, and WPI, where he received an award for distinguished service as a trustee of the college. He was the president of the New England chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. He has been a long-standing member at the Tatnuck Country Club and The Worcester Club. He and his wife Jean have been involved in numerous local organizations including the American Antiquarian Society, Bancroft School, the Ecotarium, Worcester Art Museum, UMass Memorial Healthcare, Worcester Hahneman Hospital, Worcester Historical Museum, and the Greater Worcester County Community Foundation.
He is survived by his wife Jean Trayer McDonough and two sons, Mark Myles McDonough of Manchester, MA and Neil Douglas McDonough of Worcester, MA, the current president and CEO of FLEXcon, his daughter-in-law Lisa McDonough, and seven grandchildren, Caitlin, Shaun, Ryan, Kelsey, Darcy, Dylan and Lillie. He is also survived by an extended family of relatives in New York and New Jersey, including his closest relative, Cousin Theresa Byrne.
A Funeral Mass will be held Monday, April 9 at 10:00 AM in Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 7 Church Street, Spencer. A reception will follow at FLEXcon Company, South Spencer Road at 11:30 AM.
A private burial will be held at a later date.
Memorial donations may be made to the Arthritis Foundation, 29 Crafts St., Newton, MA 02160.
We encourage people to share their thoughts and stories in our on-line guest book at http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/MylesMcDonough/homepage.aspx
J. Henri Morin & Son Funeral Home, 23 Maple Terr., Spencer is directing arrangements.