Former Hardware Retailing editor Bob Vereen has died at the age of 96. Born in Minnesota in 1924, he served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during the Second World War. He joined the National Retail Hardware Association, now the NHPA, in 1963. After a period as an editor and publication manager, he was promoted to associate publisher in 1983. The following year, he was appointed senior VP and head of the Home Center Institute.
After his retirement in 1987, Vereen helped to found the Worldwide DIY Council and the Bird-Dog Awards, which continue today as the Retailers’ Choice Awards. He was predeceased by his wife Rose in 2017 and is survived by three daughters and two grandchildren.
