John Nosler

Nosler Founder Passes Away

Bend, Ore-October, 2010-At the age of 97, John Amos Nosler, the tall, stately and beloved founder of Nosler, Inc., passed away of natural causes at his home on October 10, 2010. He leaves a legacy that will be remembered, not only by his family, but by hunters and shooters around the world.

Born on April 4, 1913 in Brawley California, John was one of America's true success stories. He founded his bullet company in 1948, and was considered to be one of the great generational icons whose designs literally created the premium bullet category and influenced ammunition and bullet manufacturers worldwide.

After experiencing a bullet failure on the hide of a mud-caked bull moose, John began a pursuit of the product design that would become his life's work. Armed with perseverance, discipline and determination, he created a concept that was uniquely different-he called it the Partition bullet, because of the barrier that separated the bullet into two sections. One year later, John and a friend traveled back to British Columbia loaded with his new Partition bullets. The results were two moose with two shots, and the rest is history.

In recognition of his contribution to the shooting sports industry, John was the unanimous choice for the inaugural 2007 NRA Golden Bullseye Pioneer Award. The award was the highlight of a long and fruitful career. Even though he officially retired in 1988 when his son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Joan Nosler purchased the company, John still managed to come to the office on a daily basis. He always had a smile on his face, and enjoyed passing out candy to employees as he made his rounds in the plant. There was always a twinkle in his eye when talking about new ideas for products, new machinery, solving a problem and of course hunting. Only when his health started to decline did his visits become less frequent.

Today, John's son Bob Nosler still presides over the company as president and CEO. Other family officers include Bob's son John R. Nosler, who serves as the company's vice president and general manager, along with Bob's wife Joan who also serves as a vice president. Other family members in the business include John's granddaughters and their husbands, Jill (Nosler) Bailey and Jeff Bailey, and Christie (Nosler) Darcy and Mike Darcy.

John Nosler always envisioned his company to be a family business. Today, the second and third generations share the responsibilities for guiding the business and, while the fourth generation is still quite young, it is large enough that prospects for continued family ownership and management look very good.

In lieu of sending flowers, the Nosler family encourages a donation to the National Rifle Association Foundation-John A. Nosler Endowment.

Checks may be submitted to: (make sure John A. Nosler's name is in the Memo)
The NRA Foundation, Inc./ John A. Nosler Endowment
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030

-or-

Call in: 1-800-672-3888

"Memento mori"

(Me)