Robert Samuel Smith

Obituary
ROBERT SAMUEL SMITH
ITHACA - Robert Samuel Smith, husband of Mary Morgan Smith, died unexpectedly at home on January 25, 2004. Dr. Smith was Chairman Emeritus of Tompkins County Trust Company and the W. I. Myers Professor of Agricultural Finance emeritus at Cornell University.Bob Smith was born and raised on a dairy farm in Gilford, NH. He was the son of Samuel W. Smith and Winnifred Page Smith. He received his B.S. degree in Agriculture from Cornell University in 1942 just before entering the U.S. Army to serve as a field artillery officer in Europe. After his discharge, he was an agricultural extension agent in Belknap County, NH.He returned to Cornell in 1949 and earned his PhD in agricultural economics in 1952. He retired from Cornell in 1980 after serving 28 years on the faculty. Professor Smith was well known throughout New York State for his work with farm families, extension agents, agricultural lenders and tax practitioners. He received many merit awards for his teaching and extension work and became nationally known for his work in agricultural finance.Professor Smith served as advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture in 1960-1961, and as an advisor for the Agricultural Development Fund of Iran in 1968. From 1960 to 1976, Smith served as Director of the Bankers School of Agriculture held on the Cornell campus each summer, and he served as consultant for banks of the Farm Credit System.Following his retirement from Cornell, he was Chairman of the Board of the Tompkins County Trust Company. He also served as a board member or consultant to numerous organizations, including serving as the agricultural specialist on the Board of Mutual of New York.In Ithaca, he served on the boards of both Hospicare and Challenge Industries.Dr. Smith and his wife recently endowed the Morgan-Smith Trail at Cornell Plantations in recognition of their dedication to Cornell University and love for the woods and nature. Bob Smith's modestly given, but significantly effective service to Cornell, agriculture, the Ithaca community and his family was deeply admired by hundreds of students, farmers, colleagues and friends.In addition to his wife, Bob Smith is survived by five children, Patricia Ley of Providence, RI, Peggy Rochette of Reston, VA, M. Scott Smith of Lexington, KY, Sharon Purdy of Edgartown, MA, and Starlee Smith of Georgetown, KY. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Seven siblings have pre-deceased him. He has two surviving sisters, Jessie Naylor of Gilford, NH and Anne Dowling of Guilderland, NY.A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Ithaca at 2 pm on Thursday, January 29. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Hospicare or Cornell Plantations. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of The Lansing Funeral Home, Inc., 32 Auburn Road, Lansing. (www.lansing-funeralhome.com)