Howard W. Mattson (May 15, 1927 – May 21, 1998) was the third Executive Vice President of the

Institute of Food Technologists The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from ...

(IFT), serving in that capacity from 1987 until his 1991 retirement. Prior to that, he had served in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

and later became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

organ transplant Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ (anatomy), organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or org ...

after his 1991 IFT retirement.

Early life and career

A native of

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, Mattson earned his B.S. in 1949 at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. After graduation, he worked as a chemist for Allied Chemical Company, then he shifted his focus to public relations.

Public relations prior to IFT

Mattson first started his career in public relations as an assistant

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

manager for the Bristol Company, then went to work for

Bell Telephone Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and technical information supervisor. After his work at Bell, Mattson worked as an associate editor for ''International Science and Technology'' and then worked as director of corporate public relations for

Monsanto Company The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Mattson would remain with Monsanto until 1973 when he joined IFT.

IFT service

Hired by Executive Director Calvert L. Willey in 1973, Mattson would be named as Director of Public Information (called Vice President of Communications as of 2006). Upon Willey's retirement in 1987, Mattson would be promoted to Executive Director. He would hold that position until the 1991 Annual Meeting in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, when he suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. The attack would force Mattson to retire and undergo a

heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common procedure is to take a functioning heart ...

Retirement and post-IFT service

Mattson would retire to Flat Rock, North Carolina (between

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, and

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

) where he joine
Pinecrest Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
(ARP). During his time, Mattson became an accomplished

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

, even having a photo of his make the cover of the
ARP Magazine
' in November 1996. One of his fellow churchgoers at Pinecrest was

Buffalo Bob Smith Robert Emil Schmidt (November 27, 1917 – July 30, 1998), nicknamed Buffalo Bob, was an American radio and television personality and presenter; he was well known as the host of the children's show ''Howdy Doody''. Biography Early life and radio ...

of ''

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

fame in the 1950s. He also remained involved with IFT by volunteering in an

organ donor Organ donation is the process when a person authorizes an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive, through a legal authorization for deceased donation made prio ...

program and was seen at the IFT Annual Meeting from 1992 to 1997.

Death

Mattson died in

, on May 21, 1998, of a

following battles with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and lung infections. A memorial service was held in Flat Rock on June 6, 1998.

References

"In Memoriam: Howard W. Mattson." ''Food Technology.'' July 1998: p. 116. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mattson, Howard W. 1927 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American chemists American magazine editors Heart transplant recipients People from Duluth, Minnesota Journalists from Chicago People from Asheville, North Carolina University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers People from Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American male writers