Hiram Percy Maxim II passes away at 72

The grandson of ARRL co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, died at home in Lyme, Connecticut on Saturday, January 12 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Hiram Percy Maxim II - called HPM just like his grandfather - was 72.

Not a ham, Maxim told the Newington Amateur Radio League at an October 2002 meeting that he doesn't feel he shares the inventive talents of his grandfather and great-grandfather, who held many patents between them; Maxim's great-grandfather invented the machine gun.

He told the club audience that his grandfather took on radio and filmmaking as diversions from inventing -- an endeavor he considered extremely hard work. He also thought of Amateur Radio as a means to "bring together" individuals from distant locations and believed that communication was a key to better understanding other people and cultures.

The elder Maxim - often referred to as "The Old Man," or "TOM" - was an amateur film buff, and a highlight of his grandson's 2002 presentation was a short 16 mm film that showed the elder Maxim and some of his friends working, relaxing and frolicking on the grounds of the family's summer home in Lyme, Connecticut, where HPM II lived until his death.

His son, Merritt Maxim, told the ARRL, "Even though he didn't have an Amateur Radio license, he was aware of the importance of his family's role in founding the League. Through his father, my grandfather - an active engineer - he continued to maintain an interest in all things mechanical."

A memorial service will be held at the Lyme Public Hall at 11 AM on Monday, January 21. Burial will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lyme Public Hall Association, 249 Hamburg Rd, Lyme, CT 06371.

Source: The American Radio Relay League