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Larrabee Smith Obituary
AGE: 90 • Holmdel
Larry Smith, 90, died Tuesday August 1, 2017 after a 6 month battle with Mesothelioma.
Larry was pre-deceased by his wife of 58 years, Patricia Smith in 2012; his parents, Laura and John Smith and his brother Roderick Smith.
He leaves his sister Virginia Trumbull, daughter Jodie, son Geoff, daughter in law Janine, 3 grandchildren Blake, Shannon and Spencer and his companion Anne and many close friends.
Born and raised in Kent Washington, the son of Jack and Laura, he enlisted in the Navy at the end of World War II and then attended the University of Washington where he graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Upon graduation Bell Labs hired him and he moved to New Jersey where he met his wife Patricia who he was married to for 58 years.
While at Bell Labs he had the fortune to work on the first transistor and as a member of the Chief Architects Division he helped define the standards with which the internet is based on today. This role also gave him the opportunity to travel abroad and visit countries around the world where he brought his wife and family. One such trip included a 3 week African Safari. He was also involved in his community and was a member of the Holmdel Planning Board where he was elected Chairman in 1967. He was most proud of his efforts towards preserving the natural beauty of Holmdel by regulating zoning which also ensured the schools were not over-populated.
An avid tennis player he played well in to his 80's which enabled him to hike the Chilkoot trail for his 80th birthday. He also loved to work with his hands as well as his mind and did everything around his house including automobile repair, plumbing, heating, woodwork,… He'd always rather build something to learn how to do it.
Visitation will be Sunday, August 6th, 2 pm until the time of his funeral service at 5 pm, at the Holmdel Funeral Home, 26 South Holmdel Road, Holmdel, NJ. Contributions in memory of Larry may be made in his honor to www.smiletrain.org. To share a favorite memory or send a message of condolence please visit www.hol mdelfuneralhome.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Larrabee Smith
Sponsored by Holmdel Funeral Home.
Robert Beeman
July 3, 2018
I first met Larrabee when I began representing Siemens in T1D1.3 in about 1984, when Larry was Chair. I served as vice-chair for several years. He was a good and intelligent man from whom I learned a lot. The last time I saw him and his wife and daughter was in the late 1980s in Phoenix where my kids and I went with his family to a few of the local places. I had written the "Ballad of T1D1.3" a few years before upon completion of the ISDN Basic Access standard as a joke gift to the other officers of the committee.
http://www.bee-man.us/poetry/ballad_of_t1d1.3.html
I am glad to have (through William Zuker) contributed to his retirement party as well.
Larrabee was a true peacemaker, getting stubborn people (of whom I was one) to agree. We are told on high authority that peacemakers are held in the highest regard.
Rest in Peace Larrabee
Bonnie Imposimato
January 24, 2018
I had so many wonderful conversations with Larrabee over the years ~ I truly enjoyed knowing him and considered him a friend. It was only recently that I had heard the news of his passing...it was sad news for me and I wish I could have paid my respects. But knowing him as I do, I'm sure he is up above, and stirring the pot over an issue that would be important to him. Rest in peace, Larrabee...I will miss you and never forget you.
Jack Moran
August 12, 2017
Let me start off my expressing my sincere condolences to Larry (Larrabee) Smith's family at his passing. Over the years I was always working with Larry in the standards world of ITU and always as a competitor I might say. However I came to respect and appreciate the goals and objectives that Larry Smith lived by.
I will simply say that it was honor to work with Larry as joint creators of a lasting ITU Test document that presented to the world for the very first time that the PSTN was a statistical connection and so it was only logical that a statistical model for evaluating modems be developed.
Now I a quite certain that neither AT&T (Larry) nor Motorola (me) ever fully supported our joint effort, but Larry had the singular conviction that is was extremely important and needed to be done regardless of company positions.
This the Larry I shall always remember, a man of Integrity and purpose.
Jack Moran
Millville, MA
Senior Director of Futurewei Technologies Inc. (these days)
Fellow of the Technical Staff (while with Motorola for 32 years)
Jan Barnet
August 10, 2017
My parents, Mildred and David Cohen, and I have some of the owl paintings he did. He was a truly remarkable human being who will be missed.
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Paul McLeod
August 6, 2017
Holmdel owes Larry a huge debt of gratitude for his tireless work in the 1960s and 70s allowing the town to grow in a smart and deliberate way. He spent enormous amounts of time doing the research seeking the best solutions for our smart growth and attempting to keep the opportunists at bay. He was a real gentleman and always generous sharing stories of Holmdel history.
Bill Zucker
August 4, 2017
I first started working with Larry on ISDN standards in the 1980s. I always enjoyed watching him negotiate and assume the dual role of company advocate and chair of the committee that we were under. He was a master at his trade and taught me a lot about negotiation. We worked together for a few years until I moved into Wireless in 1989 and then I lost track of Larry until his retirement where we resurrected a copy of the ballad of T1D1.3 (written by a member of our committee who represented Siemens whose name escapes me at the moment) and presented him with a framed version for his retirement.
Our paths went in different directions until 2000 when I returned to NJ from Ca and I called up my old boss Roy Blake to see if he wanted to go to dinner. As it turns out, Roy, Larry and other emeritus members of the TiD1.3 committee got together periodically for a fun filled dinner. I am proud to say that I had the opportunity to share those amazing dinners for 17 years with the last one a very memorable evening at the Clinton House.
What made those dinners amazing was Larry's passion - whether it was talking about the health benefits of silver, the IOUs that the government had in lieu of real funds for Social Security, the economy or any other variety of topics, Larry was always well informed, well read, passionate and and always interested in a bit of a debate ... particularly accompanied by a glass of good red wine.
I am honored to say that I have known the man for 33 years and was able to call him my friend. I will always remember "the gang of 5" which were the dinner companions for the last few years - Larry, me, his Holmdel and standards friend Massimo Sorbara, my ex-boss Roy Blake and Bell Labs standards colleague Chris Capece.
The measure of a man is not in what he has accomplished but in the legacy he has left behind. Between working to make telecom a better service for all, his community better for those living there, his attempts at injecting sanity into many of our economic policies and the wisdom he has shared with his friends, the contributions that he brought to all who came in contact with him will live on for years to come.
Rest in Peace my friend. You have lived a life "well lived."
August 4, 2017
He was one of the smartest and kindest gentlemen I have ever meet.My condolences,Rocco Pascucci
Ralf-Rainer Damm
August 3, 2017
It is with great sorrow I hear about Larry's decease. I will always remember him as a very friendly and knowledgable representative of his company and his home country. My thoughts are with his family.
Richard "Dick" Brandt
August 3, 2017
Larry and I were in China for a standards meeting when one of our Chinese guides came up to me and addressed me as Mr. Smith. I told her that I was Mr. Brandt and pointed out Larry who had just joined the group and said that is Mr. Smith. She looked at Larry and then back at me and shrugged her shoulders and said "Brandt Smith same". That phrase stuck and was used many times by our friends who wanted to give us a hard time.
Larry and I in China
Richard "Dick" Brandt
August 3, 2017
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