Betty James, Co-Founder Of Slinky Dead At 90

November 23, 2008 6:30 a.m. EST

Hollidaysburg, PA (AHN) - Betty James - the co-founder of the company that made the Slinky - and a single mother who broke the glass ceiling to become a successful executive in the 1950s has died. She was 90.

James co-founded what would become the Slinky empire in 1945 with her husband, the late Richard James.

But when her husband left to join a religious cult and follow it to Bolivia, she took over control and management of the company, James Industries Inc., along with raising the couple's six children alone.

She initially commuted to Philadelphia to run the company and stayed there from Sunday through Thursday during the week, leaving the children with her mother. James eventually moved the factory closer to her home so she could be home at night with her children.

James was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 2001 for the Slinky. She was one of the first women to have a nationally-known business.