BRUNSWICK — Kenneth M. Smith, 89 of 20 Matthew Drive, Brunswick and Pemaquid Harbor, ME, died Thursday, April 26th, 2012 after an extended illness.
He was born in Wheeling, WV, March 24, 1923, the son of Paul and Anna McGregor Smith and attended Wheeling public schools. While living there he was active in the Boy Scouts of America and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an instructor in the radio mechanics school. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, Cum Laude, in 1947 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned both his MS in Chemistry, 1950, and PhD in Physical Chemistry, 1955, from Ohio State University.
Dr. Smith joined the E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company in 1955 as a Research Chemist and transferred to the Technical Service Division, where his group provided technical assistance to the Marketing Divisions of the Photo Products and Electronics Products Departments. He retired as a Senior Technical Associate after more than 40 years of service. Dr. Smith was for many years Chairman of the industry-wide American National and International Standards Committees for Photographic Chemicals, Photographic Processing, and Imaging Systems. He also served on the stardards committees studying the archival properties of photographic records and continued the standards work for a number of years following his retirement. Dr. Smith was a U.S. Delegate to the International Standards Organization (ISO), attending their meetings abroad.
In 1976, he married Marjorie Eisenberger. Although their main residence was Newark, DE, they enjoyed many summers at their cottage in Pemaquid Harbor. Dr. and Mrs. Smith moved to Brunswick from Newark, DE, in 2001, where they resided at the Thornton Oaks Retirement Community.
He was a member of the Central Presbyterian Church in Norristown, PA, sang in the Barber Shop Quartet and the Deltones Barber Shop Chorus in Wilmington, DE, and was Chairman of the Writers Group at Thornton Oaks. In retirement, he enjoyed traveling, writing, collecting stamps and spending time with his family and young grandsons.
He is predeceased by a brother Dr. Harlan J. Smith and by Whitney Smith, his grandson.
Survivors include his wife of 36 years, in Brunswick; two sons, Emory Smith, and Jeffrey Smith and Jeffrey’s wife, Diane DeBevec all of Cincinnati, OH; a daughter, Carolyn S. Toth of New London, OH; a step daughter, Mary Catharine Hartman and her husband Matthew J. LaMourie, of Yarmouth, ME; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, 3 Wade Street, Augusta, ME 04330.
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