Pawling's Howard Smith dies at 93.(Obituary)(Brief Article)(Obituary)

Howard W. Smith, 93, retired chairman and president of Pawling Corp., died Sept. 21 in Sarasota, Fla.

After serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II as a communications officer on the U.S.S. Diphda, Smith joined the newly formed Pawling Rubber Corp. in 1946, starting as vice president of sales. He became its president in 1953 and chairman in 1976. He had been honorary chairman since 1991.

Under Smith's leadership the family-owned business grew as a maker of molded and extruded goods, and in 1971 moved into custom mixing.

In a 1991 interview, Smit