Frederic William Sammons was born in 1927 in Pennsylvania and grew up on his family’s farm. From a young age Dr. Sammons was a tinkerer and helped repair things around the farm. Dr. Sammons graduated from high school in 1945 and began his college education the same year at the State Teachers College in Edinboro to earn his teaching certificate. He then earned his bachelor’s degree from California State College in California, PA in 1951. He worked as a Mechanical Drawing teacher in Ohio until he was drafted for the Korean War. During his service he worked as a draftsman at a chemical plant. After Dr. Sammons was released from the military in the early 1950’s he began attending Virginia Commonwealth University’s Occupational Therapy program. After graduating with his Occupational Therapy certificate, he was offered a position at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. In 1957 after three years of working there, he became the head of RIC’s Occupational Therapy Department. In 1958 Dr. Sammons began the Button King company where he sold his own assistive technology inventions. In 1960 Dr. Sammons transitioned to working at Northwestern University’s Amputee Clinic while still maintaining his business on the side. In 1965 Dr. Sammons left NWU to focus on his own business. The business continued to grow and in 1969 became Fred Sammons Inc. In 1982 the company was sold to Bissell and Dr. Sammons was kept on for consult and marketing until the early 2000’s. Today the company is a part of the Patterson Medical group. Dr. Sammons received an honorary doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University in 1993. Dr. Sammons has retired and settled in Kalamazoo.