Harry Smith

SMITH, Jr., Harry

Harry Gillespie Smith, Jr, known to his friends as Gilly, of Atlanta, Georgia, died of Covid-19 on December 12, 2020. He was born on August 17, 1932 in Spartanburg, SC and moved to Atlanta as a young boy with his parents, Harry Gillespie Smith, Sr. and Evelyn Sentelle Smith. He enlisted in the Army and went to the Korean War right after graduating from North Atlanta High School. When he returned, he enrolled at the University of Georgia where he met his devoted wife, Edith Martin Smith. They were married in 1956 and he started at Georgia State University. He was recruited out of college to sell advertising space in Atlanta Magazine. He continued selling ad space to various publications his entire career. He discovered his true passion in 1976 when he soloed in a glider for the first time. Over the years, he flew a sailplane in many states and in the Swiss Alps as a competitive glider pilot. He was proceeded in death by his loving wife of 62 years, Edith, his brother Ennis Smith, and his eldest daughter, Frances Leigh Smith. He is survived by his son Daniel Travis Smith and daughter Jenna Schuh (Jonathan), and four grandchildren Nicholas Catherall, Erin Catherall, Eliza Schuh and Gillian Schuh.