Lt Col. (Retired) Robert Thomson Smith, Jr. died Wednesday August 3, 2011 at IU Ball Hospital. He was born May 17, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Robert T. and Dorothy (Broyles) Smith, Sr.
An only child, Mr. Smith spent much of his youth living on the family farm in rural Delaware County in Indiana and attended elementary school in Gaston. He graduated from Ft. Wayne Central High School in 1940, where he played basketball and baseball. After high school, he signed a contract to play baseball as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team and was assigned to their minor league team in Athens, Georgia. In 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in France during WWII.
Afterwards, he graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Physics, and continued his military career in the Air Force as an intelligence officer, specializing in the research of foreign air craft, and in the research and development of nuclear energy and propulsion systems. While at IU, he met his wife of 60 years, Cheryle (Curtis) Smith, who preceded him in death in July 2010. They had no Children.
After retiring from the Air Force, in 1967 they resided in Manhattan Beach, California. He was an avid golfer and played in numerous Celebrity Pro-Am tournaments including most Los Angeles Open events from 1972 - 1995, as well as many others throughout the country including several Mad Anthony Golf Tournaments in Ft. Wayne. He loved playing bridge and enjoyed music with an extensive collection of more than 15,00 songs on record albums and tapes. In 2004, Mr. Smith authored a book entitled, "Songs the Big Bands Played".
Earlier this year, Mr. Smith returned to Indiana to live with his cousin, P.J. Marshall (wife, Tammara) near Gaston.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, August 6, 2001 at Garden View Funeral Home 10501 North State Road 3 Muncie, IN. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Muncie, IN. An online guest book may be signed at www.gardenviewandgardensofmemory.com. Memorials may be sent to the Indiana University Alumni Association.