Obituary of Otto H. York

Otto H. York, 96, of Maplewood died on Thursday, July 12, 2007, at home. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the memorial service at the Morrow Memorial Church, 600 Ridgewood Rd., Maplewood, on Thursday, July 19, at 12 p.m. Interment is private. Visitation will be held at the Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home, 2122 Millburn Ave., Maplewood, on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. only. For more information or to send condolences please visit jacobhollefuneralhome.com. Born in Chicago, Ill., Mr. York lived in Maplewood for many years and then in Madison for 15 years before moving back to Maplewood five years ago. A chemical engineer, inventor and entrepreneur, he worked his way through Purdue University earning a B.S. in chemical engineering in 1934. In 1947, he founded the Otto H. York Co. to develop and market DEMISTER, a device made of knitted wire mesh pads used in the chemical and petroleum industries to improve the performance of process vessels. The pads remove mist from any gas stream and are fitted into evaporators, columns, towers, pressure vessels, scrubbers and other devices. The company was eventually sold to the Foster Wheeler Corp. Mr. York also managed the York Foundation, which provides money to charities, community organizations and to environmental and chemical engineering research enterprises. A longtime friend and benefactor to NJIT, he provided a number of gifts to the university and served on the Trustees Advisory Committee to the Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Environmental Science. In 1991, Mr. York pledged a gift of $1 million to be used for facility improvement. NJIT dedicated the Otto H. York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science in his honor. The center houses the largest university-based hazardous waste management research program in the nation. Mr. York served on that centers advisory board until the time of his death. He was the beloved father of Michael O., Myrth and the late R. Peter York; loving grandfather of Neath Pal, Nyssa York Green, Caleb York Green, Chloe Myrth Dunscombe and Nathaniel John Pyke and former husband of the late Myrth Brooks York.