Smith’s father founded Winchester Rendering Company, which later became Valley Proteins. In 1968, Jerry became president of the company following his father’s death and over his 51-year career, grew the business from a single location in Winchester to one of the four largest recyclers of animal by-products in the United States with facilities located in 10 states. Smith was also a former director of the National Renderers Association (NRA) and served as chairman of the association’s board of directors from 1992 to 1993.
Gerald “Jerry” Smith, 64, chairman of the Board of Directors of Valley Proteins, Inc., died April 25, 2003, at his Winchester, VA, home after a one-year fight with the disease. Gary James Bottomley, 62, American Proteins, Inc., died March 26, 2003, at home in Glendale Springs, NC, and Roger Landis Garrett, 67, Diversified Laboratories, Inc., passed away March 31, 2003, of lung cancer at his home in Alexandria, VA.
Jerry Smith
A strong advocate for higher education, Smith endowed a scholarship at Lord Fairfax Community College and had served on its educational foundation board. In 1997, the college awarded him an honorary degree in Humane Letters. Smith also served on the Shenandoah University Board of Trustees, which named him the Harry F. Byrd Jr. School of Business Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997.
In 1994, he formed the Gerald F. Smith Scholarship Foundation that awards scholarships annually to graduating high school seniors whose parents or guardians are employees of Valley Proteins.
Smith was also committed to the development of youth. He had been an assistant scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 45 and served for many years on the executive board of the Shenandoah Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, which honored him with its Distinguished Citizen Award in 1999. Smith was also committed to the Evans Home for Children, as well as the Youth Development Center, which in May 1999 presented him with its Outstanding Contributions to Youth Award.
Smith had many varied hobbies and interests. He was a dirt track stock car racer in the 1970s and 80s and later studied the piano. He collected Corvettes and other older automobiles and was an accomplished pilot holding ratings in helicopters as well as two different jet aircraft.
Smith is survived by his wife, Marilyn, two sons, Gerald F. “J.J.” Smith Jr. and Michael A. Smith, and numerous other family members. Memorials may be made to the Sacred Heart Academy Building Fund c/o Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, 130 Keating Dr., Winchester, VA 22601; the Youth Development Center, 3 Battaile Drive, Winchester, VA 22601; or the Evans Home for Children, 330 E. Leicester St., Winchester, VA 22601.
Gary Bottomley
Bottomley retired from American Proteins, Inc., a Gainesville, GA, poultry rendering operation, in March 2001 after four years as president and chief executive officer. As a retiree, Bottomley continued to serve as a member of the company’s board of directors. Previously, he worked for Holly Farms Foods, Inc., now Tyson Foods, Inc., joining the Wilkes County, NC, business in 1965. Bottomley was elected vice president of engineering and was a member of the board of directors from September 1973 until November 1990. During his 25-year tenure with Holly Farms, he held a variety of positions for rendering and feed ingredient production and later became the director of engineering.
Bottomley was also an active member of several organizations that included executive vice president and member of the board of directors of the Balanced Energy Company, chairman of the environmental control committee of the American Poultry and Egg Institute, and board member of the Midwest Piedmont Area Business Development Organization, Inc. When Holly Farms was acquired by Tyson Foods in 1990, Bottomley and Bill Ross, another Holly Farms engineer, formed the consulting firm BATCO (Best Available Technology Company), Inc., where they offered their engineering expertise to poultry processors, rendering plants, and other businesses. In 1994, Bottomley and Ross formed Sun River Service Corporation, a Wilson, NC, based company that further processes poultry by-products for the pet food industry.
Bottomley is survived by his wife Tonya, two daughters, a son, two sisters, and three grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 500 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, NC 28202, (800) 227-2345, or Ashe County Hospice, P.O. Box 421, Jefferson, NC 28640.
Roger Garrett
Garrett was president of two independent laboratories, Adams Laboratories in Alexandria, VA, which produced blended fats and oils for the poultry industry, and Diversified Laboratories in Chantilly, VA, an analytical laboratory for the agricultural industry. He was a supporter of the rendering industry, exhibiting for many years at the NRA conventions. Garrett helped guide development of environmentally safe chemicals and was founding chief of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) industrial chemistry branch, working on toxicology issues at EPA for 27 years. He directed a new chemicals review program, chemical emergency group, and most recently, a guidelines program for acute chemical exposure.
Among a few of his accomplishments was the development of analytical methods used in identifying pesticide contamination in foods and in other processes and the invention of methods to calculate the energy value of foods and feed that changed the way livestock nutrition was determined.
Garrett was a native of Collegeville, PA, and was a graduate of Cornell University, where he received a master’s degree and doctorate in biochemistry. He served in the army at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Susan, three daughters, four brothers, a sister, and three grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Perkiomen School, Pennsburg, PA 18073, or Hospice of Northern VA, 9300 Lee Hwy., 5th Floor, Fairfax, VA 22031.
June 2003 Render