Charles R. Adams; Founded Firm That Makes Oxygen Devices

Charles R. Adams, 73, the founder and chairman emeritus of Chad Therapeutics, a Chatsworth-based maker of oxygen devices, died June 27 in Northridge after a long illness.

Born in Teague, Texas, Adams served in the Navy during World War II. After the war, he continued his college education at Baylor University, where he earned a degree in chemistry.

Adams entered the pharmaceutical industry with a post at Northridge-based Riker Labs in the mid-1950s. He stayed with Riker for 27 years, holding a variety of key management positions and leaving as vice president of marketing.

While doing consulting work after leaving Riker, Adams ended up starting Chad Therapeutics. The firm’s main products for much of his tenure were a tiny oxygen tank about the size of a milk bottle and a device the size of a large pocket calculator that regulates the flow of oxygen. Chad was named one of the top small companies by Forbes magazine for several years in the 1990s.