Ernest Robert Breech (1897–1978) was an American corporate executive. Although he is best remembered for his work in revitalizing

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

in the years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served similar roles at

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

and other companies. Breech was drafted by the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

but opted to attend

Drury College Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and grad ...

instead. Breech was a founding member of

Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; grc, ϕεῖ ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th century BC to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voicele ...

, later

Theta Kappa Nu Theta Kappa Nu () Fraternity was founded in 1924 by delegates from 11 local fraternities. It later merged with Lambda Chi Alpha in . History Theta Kappa Nu Fraternity was founded on when delegates from 11 local fraternities from nine different ...

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

(now

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

). Breech dropped out of college, later taking correspondence courses before taking his

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

exam. Breech worked for the Checker Cab Company,

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

, and

Bendix Aviation Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company which, during various times in its existence, made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft brakes, aeronautical hydraulics and electric power systems, av ...

before being persuaded by

Henry Ford II Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 – September 29, 1987), sometimes known as "Hank the Deuce", was an American businessman in the automotive industry. He was the oldest son of Edsel Ford I and oldest grandson of Henry Ford I. He was president ...

to come aboard at Ford. Breech served as Ford Motor Company's chairman. Then in 1960, he was a member of the three-person trust overseeing

' jet financing plan. He was inducted into the

Automotive Hall of Fame The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to au ...

in 1979. Breech was a 33rd degree

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. His induction to that degree was highlighted in the October 8, 1956 issue of ''Life'' magazine. The Breech School of Business at Drury University is named in his honor due to his donation. The Louise G. Wallace Hospital in

Lebanon, Missouri Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Laclede County in Missouri. The population was 14,474 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laclede County. The Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Laclede County. Hi ...

was renamed Breech Medical Center in 1979. The hospital was replaced by a new facility, Mercy Hospital Lebanon, in 1999. A

Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of ma ...

acquired by the Ford Motor Co.'s dedicated fleet was renamed in his honor until the ship's sale in 1988. As of 2017, that freighter sailed for Lower Lakes Transportation as the Ojibway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breech, Ernest 1897 births 1978 deaths Ford executives Drury University alumni Bendix Corporation people