Theodore C. Rains, Ph.D

Theodore Conrad Rains Ph.D., 92, of Charleston, South Carolina, widower of Mavis Stivers Rains, passed away Friday, September 8, 2017. The family will receive friends Saturday, September 30, 2017, in J. HENRY STUHR INC., WEST ASHLEY CHAPEL, 3360 Glenn McConnell Parkway, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. His Funeral Service will be held Sunday, October 1, 2017, in Stuhr's West Ashley Chapel at 2:00 pm. Interment will follow in Live Oak Memorial Gardens. High-Purity Standards will host a reception following the Interment at 7221 Investment Drive, North Charleston at 4:00 p.m.

Dr. Rains was born January 10, 1925, in Henry County, Kentucky, son of the late Fred L. Rains and Mishie O. Rains. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Eastern Kentucky University and his Doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Rains had a distinguished career in science. The seminal point in the development of that career was in 1952 when he accepted a position at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. During the next thirteen years, he would develop and publish scientific methods associated with the preparation and analysis of chemical elements.

In 1965, Ted accepted a position at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST) in Washington, D.C. While at NIST he contributed to the development of the Standard Reference Material program and in representing NIST in training international laboratories. His contributions resulted in the publishing of hundreds of scientific papers, a co-authored three-volume set on chemical instrumentation, and hundreds of presentations at national and international scientific meetings. Upon retirement in 1990 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD, Dr. Rains accepted an offer from investors at General Engineering Laboratories in Charleston, SC to establish a private business to manufacture chemical solutions for the use in calibrating and quality control of chemical instrumentation. That family-run company, High-Purity Standards, a certified reference material manufacturer with global sales in North Charleston, presently employs 40+ employees. Ted was a member of Ashley River Baptist Church where he taught Sunday school.

He is survived by his three daughters, Connie Hayes of North Charleston, SC, B. Diane Haines of Germantown, MD, and Pamela Conrad of Leonardtown, MD; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to The School of Science and Math Dean's Excellence Fund, College of Charleston Foundation, Attn: Erica Rabhan, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424.