THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 22, 1996 TAG: 9607220013
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: 46 lines
Howard Warrington Gwaltney died Sunday, July 21, 1996. Born in Smithfield, Va., on Jan. 20, 1908, he was the son of Pembroke Decatur Gwaltney Jr. and Estelle Darden Gwaltney.
After attending Washington and Lee University, Mr. Gwaltney entered business with his father. When P.D. Gwaltney Jr. died in 1936, he became president of the P.D. Gwaltney Jr. & Co., later known as Gwaltney Inc. Mr. Gwaltney served as president and CEO until his retirement from the corporation and the meatpacking business in 1973.
All his life Mr. Gwaltney maintained an active interest in the affairs of the Town of Smithfield. He served as a councilman from 1931 to 1953 when he was elected as mayor, an office he held for two terms. Mr. Gwaltney and his brothers contributed to the reconstruction of the Old Courthouse, Main Street, Smithfield, and through Mr. Gwaltney's effort, Smithfield Little Theater was given the building it now occupies.
Because of his interest in education and public service, he served as a member of the board of trustees of both Ferrum College and Virginia Wesleyan College, and served on the Governor's Vocational Rehabilitation Committee of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was also a board member of Historic St. Luke's Church and Hillcrest Nursing Home.
An active businessman, Mr. Gwaltney was a founder and president of Gwaltney Realty Corporation and a member of the board of directors of the Home Telephone Company, the American Meat Institute, Dominion Bank of Roanoke and Crestar Bank of Norfolk. He was a patron of the Virginia Museum, Chesapeake Foundation and Isle of Wight Academy.
Mr. Gwaltney was elected to membership on the board of directors of the Bank of Smithfield on Oct. 1, 1929, and served for 51 years, first as a director, then chairman of the board and president of the bank.
He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, where he served as chairman of the Administrative Board and the Finance Committee for many years.
Mr. Gwaltney was always an avid sportsman who loved to hunt and fish, activities he had engaged in since early boyhood.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Katherine Langhorne Gwaltney, and by two daughters, Lucy G. Clay and Kay G. Remick, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. One son, Howard Gwaltney Jr., predeceased his father.
A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 23, at Trinity United Methodist Church by the Rev. Wilfred M. Mayton. Burial will be private. Colonial Funeral Home, Smithfield, is handling arrangements.
Memorial donations may be made to a favorite charity.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB