Dick A. Smith

My dad who was USAF training sergeant for weekend reserve officers at Luke USAF in the 1950's. Mr. Smith and my father were both from Kansas and about the same age became friends. My dad would take me to his facility and Mr. Smith would take the time to hook me up to a harness on the trampoline and work on different front and back flips. Years later those lessons helped my basketball and my balance in my boxing career. I really appreciated the way he treated me like I was his only...

With all our love and deepest sympathy. Uncle Dick as we called him was the greatest man to have for a friend and in my case adopted family member, it is a great loss to the world. Thank you Uncle Dick for all the great fun we had in Mexico riding dirt bikes. Memories like that come once in a lifetime, if you are lucky enough to have Dick Smith in your life. Aunt Helen we have been trying to find you both and we are so sorry you lost Dick. I wish we could find you. Please take care and know...

I was fortunate to meet Dick only once in 1982. He forced me to stay in his home after learning about my background and interest in the sport of Diving. My God grant enternal peace to his sould, and courage enough to all of us left behind to sustain the pain and grief of his absence.

In a sport like Diving where there are so many unforgettable characters, Dick Smith stands at the head of the class. I was a “camp diver” at the Swim Gym when I was ten years old and retuned for four summers of fun in the Phoenix sun!

Two things stand out in my mind about Dick. First he took time to explain to my father what he thought about me and my diving. Dick made my dad, a farmer from Amarillo Texas, feel like he was the most important person on the pool deck. He...

His passing brings on a flood of memories, most of them wonderful. I loved that time in my life when I was so fortunate to be diving with many of the greatest women divers in the United States and the world. Patsy Willard, Jeanne Collier, and Barbara McAlister dominated for years and we walked into DSSG just hoping we could find a place to dive. Dick Smith Swim Gym did not look the part but I remember how excited I was on Saturday mornings knowing that I could stay at DSSG all day and go...

Memories of what Dick has done for people will always be cherished. I will always remember him as a good friend whom I admired. Diving could use more Dick Smith's.
Van Austin

DICK SMITH-OLYMPIC COACH

At the conclusion of the 1960 US Men’s Olympic Diving trials in Detroit, Michigan three men went to Rome. The rest went home.

I exchanged my diving suit for a business suit, went to work, got drafted by the Army, and joined the Navy. They sent me to Officer Candidate School, sanctioned my marriage and shipped me out to sea. Three years later I landed on shore duty and spent some time with my wife and new baby boy. For three years I had...