Verity Smith mourned by water industry

Verity Carlisle Smith, age 94, died on April 10 after a brief illness, surrounded by his loving family. He grew up in West Roxbury, MA, the eldest of three children. Smith attended the Roxbury Latin School, the Huntington School and subsequently enrolled at MIT. His enlistment in the army during WWII delayed his completion of college. After returning from the service, Smith completed his degree from MIT in chemical engineering in 1948. Known professionally as Verity, his career began at Dennison Industries, followed by 18 years at Barnstead Still and Sterilizer Co. In 1967, he founded Vaponics, Inc. of Plymouth, with expansion including offices in London and Bangkok. Smith directed the company until it was sold in 1988 to Osmonics, Inc., at which point he joined the Board of Directors, keeping his hands in the mix for several years. He continued his career in ultra-pure water through sales and consulting until his full retirement two years ago.
Throughout his career, Smith authored many papers on water purification and held over 20 process and equipment patents relating to water purification. In 1969, he was elected as a Fellow in the American Institute of Chemical Engineering. Smith was a 50-year member of the American Society of Testing and Materials and his noteworthy work in this field was honored in 1982 with the prestigious Max Hecht Award. He contributed to dozens of standards related to water purification. Smith was the chairman of D19.08 for many years and had only recently reduced his administrative activities but retained the position of Chairman Emeritus. His professional associations also included membership in the American Nuclear Society and the American Chemical Society.
Survivors include his beloved wife, Anita Wilder Smith and six children: Verity Brooks Smith; Gordon Taylor Smith (Michelle); Carlann McKee Welch; Nathan Carlisle Smith (Natcha); Margo Hyland Rush (Kevin) and Jennifer Rosamond Wieting (Carl). He also leaves three stepchildren, Pieter Van Slyck (Marie); Katrena Hartwig (Ted) and Derek Van Slyck, 10 grandchildren and his sister, Janet Smith Gross. Smith was preceded in death by his parents, John Verity Smith and Hattie Hyland Smith; first wife, Marcia Ann McKee Smith; sister, Rosamond Smith Busboom and daughter-in-law, Kristin Totleben-Smith. A memorial service was held on May 6 in Duxbury. Donations to Nurtury at 95 Berkeley Street, Suite 306, Boston, MA 02116 or Sophia Gordon Cancer Center at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center would be appreciated.