CARLTON L. SMITH

1934 - 2018

SMITH, Carlton L. Age 84, of Hopkinton, MA, formerly of Harvard, MA, passed away on September 13, 2018, after a long battle with cancer. Born in Long Beach, CA, Carlton was a childhood survivor of polio, aided in his recovery by the March of Dimes. A graduate of the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1959, Carlton began his career as an engineer at Raytheon in Massachusetts, where he met his wife, Janet. He soon found his true passion was writing, and built a successful career as a reporter, editor, and photographer at the Boston Globe, the Lowell Sun, and the Manchester Union Leader. Later in life, Carlton became a technical writer and marketer for technology firms such as Wang Labs. In retirement he was a bookseller at New England Mobile Book Fair. Carlton was a civil war buff, founder of the Civil War Round Table of Central Massachusetts, and author of the historical book Peabody at Shiloh. An avid reader and intellectual, he developed an objectivist philosophy and was an ardent supporter of Ayn Rand, having met her several times. He was an expert skiier and could be found on the slopes of New Hampshire and Vermont every winter. Carlton also had a side career as a model and movie extra; he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and appeared as an extra in most movies filmed in New England, most notably The Crucible and The Departed. He also appeared in a national TV commercial for Grecian Formula 16. Carlton is survived by his beloved wife, Janet (Parker) Smith, formerly of Hopkinton, MA, who grew up in Wellesley, MA. Together they shared a love of cats/animals, the Red Sox, and the ocean, and made many memorable trips together to Maine, Cape Cod, and Hawaii. Carlton was a devoted father to, and is survived by, his two children with Janet: H. Scott Smith, of Cambridge, MA; and Brett Smith, of Hopkinton, MA. Carlton was a man of integrity, passion, humor, and pride, and an independent thinker; he will be greatly missed. Services were private.

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