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Robert C. 'Smitty' Smithwick Los Altos Hills, CA QCWA # 13195 Chapter 11 |
Robert Smithwick, a founder of Foothill College who served as a trustee for nearly 35 years, died onMarch 22 at his home in Los Altos Hills. He was 92.
Smithwick was a young dentist in Los Altos in 1956 when he attended early planning meetings for a "junior college," convened by then-Palo Alto School Superintendent Henry M. Gunn.
He chaired the original elected board of trustees of Foothill, which was built with funds from a $10.4 million bond issue passed in May 1958. Smithwick, who maintained a dentistry practice in Sunnyvale until 1983, was until recently a regular presence at college events. Dick Henning, who founded the Celebrity Forum Speakers Series in the 1960s (now at Flint Center at De Anza College), said Smithwick rarely missed a speaker and typically sent a hand-written note afterwards with comments on the talk.
"He had this brown paper and small brown envelopes, just for thank-you notes," Henning recalled Monday. "It's so rare to get hand-written notes these days. He always had a comment and he was always so positive." Smithwick said in a 2008 interview that early planners expected Foothill's enrollment would top out at 6,000. Today's enrollment at Foothill and its sister institution, De Anza College, is more than 40,000. "We were certainly surprised at the demand and glad we were able to meet it in most ways," he said in the 2008 interview with the Weekly.
"People didn't understand much in those days about junior colleges. We wanted to prove to them that we could be as good or better than any of the good four-year schools in terms of quality of education.
"Today people take it for granted, but in those days a lot of high school seniors didn't even think about going to college. They just went to work. "We wanted to encourage them to go to college."
Henning said Smithwick was fond of a quote from the Roman orator Cicero: "What greater or better gift can we offer the republic than to teach and instruct our youth." Smithwick, whose father was a minister and missionary, spent his young boyhood in India.
After the family returned to the United States, Smithwick moved through eighth grade in six years, high school in three years and university in three years, according to his family. He graduated from what is now Andrews University in Michigan and the University of Illinois Dental School.
He was married for 60 years to Aileen Lois Russell, who died in 2002. Among his survivors are a daughter Cathye and a son Michael, both of San Jose. He also is survived by his sister-in-law Elizabeth Oswald of Dinuba and his grand-nephew Scott Smithwick of San Jose.
Dr. Robert Smithwick was a doer who did plenty in his 92 years of life. The man hailed as "the father" of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District passed away in his sleep the morning of March 22 in his Los Altos Hills home.
Smithwick helped form the college district. He participated in many early discussions with district trustees and superintendents that helped lead to the creation of the independent college district.
In 1957, he became chairman of the first elected board of what was then called the Foothill Junior College District and continued his service on the board for nearly 35 years.
As a Sunnyvale native and dentist for many years, Smithwick also served on the board of the Fremont Union High School District, staying active with the two districts simultaneously for a number of years.
Long before Smithwick made his mark in the Valley of Heart's Delight, he was born to missionaries and began his life with an international upbringing. "He spent the first years of his life in India. His first language was Hindi, " daughter Cathye Smithwick said. "His earliest memories were growing up in India."
Smithwick served in the U.S. Navy as a dental officer during World War II. After the war, he practiced with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs in Carson City, Nev. Smithwick and his wife, Aileen, settled in Sunnyvale where he started up a dental practice along with his brother. Smithwick chose the then unrecognized field of pediatric dentistry, Cathye said. His prior experience introducing oral hygiene to underserved communities helped him make a trip to the dentist a less intimidating experience, and he specialized in hiring staff members who brought energy, enthusiasm and a friendly atmosphere to his practice. "He was absolutely the best pediatric dentist in the world, " said Cathye, who also practiced in the field as a dental hygienist. "He never wore white in his office. He instinctively knew that would frighten children and bring on thoughts of needles."
Smithwick's love of tinkering led him to dentistry and an enthusiasm for amateur ham radio. While communicating through ham radio in the 1980s, he heard that a hospital in Rwanda was in critical need of equipment. Smithwick communicated with the individual and worked with friends to have equipment sent from the United States to the Rwandan hospital. The incident sparked the formation of Medishare International, an organization that distributes excess medical supplies and equipment to countries in desperate need through the help of amateur radio enthusiasts.
Smithwick stopped practicing dentistry in 1983 and enjoyed nearly 30 years of retirement with family while remaining a part of the local community. Family was everything to him. "More than anything, he wanted to be known as a father, " Cathye said.
Even into his later years, Smithwick remained a part of the college district's community. He attended tenure receptions, graduations and other important events. Cathye said he insisted on attending every graduation even if it meant using his walker or riding in a motorized golf cart.
"I believe that Dr. Smithwick's values are deeply embedded in our district. Many of you knew him for much longer than I, but it didn't take long to see that he was passionately committed to the idea of excellence and opportunity for all, " Foothill-De Anza chancellor Linda Thor said in a press release. "Since he set about establishing the district, some 1.2 million students have attended Foothill or De Anza. They are the true beneficiaries of his work."
A celebration of Smithwick's life is set for April 19 at 2 p.m., appropriately at the Smithwick Theatre at Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, in Los Altos Hills. Parking at the college will be free during the memorial service, and attendees will not need to purchase parking passes. The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Smithwick's honor to the Foothill-De Anza Foundation or the Rotary Club of Palo Alto at foundation.fhda.edu or rotarypaloalto.org.
A memorial service will be held Friday, April 19 for Robert Smithwick, a founding trustee of Foothill College who died March 22 at his home in Los Altos Hills. He was 92.
The service will begin at 2 p.m. in the Smithwick Theatre at Foothill, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. Attendees do not need to purchase parking passes and no citations will be given during the service.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Foothill-De Anza Foundation or to the Rotary Club of Palo Alto.
(Source: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2013/03/25/foothills-founding-father-dies)
Robert "Smitty" Smithwick, W6CS ex-W6JZU, of Los Altos Hills, California, passed away March 22. He was 92. An ARRL Life Member, Smithwick served as ARRL Pacific Division Vice Director from 1978-1981. A pediatric dentist by trade,
Smithwick was one of the founders of Foothill College, a two-year community college in Los Altos Hills, and served as the first president of the college's Board of Trustees; Smithwick Theatre on campus is named in his honor.
Ross Forbes, K6GFJ, had known Smithwick since high school. "I fondly remember my days at Foothill College and working very close with Smitty on a number of projects, " Forbes wrote on the NCCC e-mail reflector. "Besides [Smitty's] support for Project OSCAR, I remember the days [when] the NCDXC was looking for a new location for its repeater. While Smitty convinced the Board of Directors of Foothill College, and I handled the details at the radio site, we were able to move W6TI up to its present location on Black Mountain. Smitty was always there to support young people and Amateur Radio in particular. There are just so many ways that Smitty was involved in Amateur Radio. We have lost one of Amateur Radio's great individuals."
According to Jim Abraham, W6EB, Smithwick was "an active DX chaser and contester, and participated in many other ham radio activities for decades. He also was very active in humanitarian efforts in Africa and the Soviet Union/Eastern Europe dealing with the aftermath of Chernobyl."
(Source: http://www.arrl.org/news/former-arrl-pacific-division-vice-director-robert-smithwick-w6cs-ex-w6jzu-sk)