NEW ORLEANS, La. – Minnesota-reared David Orleck, who invented, built and marketed world-class vacuum cleaners, died at age 99. Most of his adult life was in New Orleans. He dropped out of college his freshman year in college to join the Army Air Corps for World War II. He was a B-29 navigator in the Pacific. After the war, he rose through executive ranks at RCA television and Whirlpool appliances. In 1963 he founded Oreck Corporation as the exclusive national distributor for Whirlpool vacuum cleaners. Then he honed direct mail technologies for his Oreck brand vacuum cleaners that were both powerful and durable yet light weight.
Oreck. Born in Duluth.