Elroy McDonald Smith

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Elroy Smith Obituary

ELROY McDONALD SMITH 1-24-1935 3-18-2007 Longtime resident of California, residing in Los Gatos and Saratoga, CA. He was born in Kingstown, St. Vincent, West Indies on 1/24/35. Elroy attended Howard University and majored in Civil Engineering. Upon graduation in 1960 he went on to Yale University where he earned a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering in 1961. Elroy then came to California as a Phd. candidate at Stanford University. Elroy worked at IBM in the Planning & Development Dept. for 24 years. In 1978, Elroy was on loan from IBM to teach at Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. He was instrumental in arranging for IBM to donate to Atlanta University the school's first computer. He retired from IBM in 1986. After retirement, Elroy worked in Real Estate and then became a business owner of the First Saratoga Mortgage Co. where he worked up until his death. Elroy was a member of the Paul Robeson Society. Also, he served in many capacities at the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Los Gatos, CA. Elroy is survived by his wife Susie Pharr, his 4 sons, Nsiah, Elroy Jr.,Lemelle and Shaquille. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Elroy may be made to the Vera Moulton Wall Center at Stanford. Services will be held at 11:00am, March 28 at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, 6901 Rudsdale St., Oakland, CA 94621.

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Published by Oakland Tribune on Mar. 25, 2007.

Memories and Condolences
for Elroy Smith

7 Entries

Yvonne Kennedy

March 31, 2007

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Sincerely,

Carol Gautreaux Hooper

March 29, 2007

Dearest Sue,
Our deepest sympathy is extended to you and your sons. Elroy was a kind and loving person, truly a gem. Take comfort in knowing that you have another guardian angel to watch over you-Elroy. May God give you the strength and love you need throughout this time.
Love,
Auntee, Carol,and Carl

Dan & Lorraine McCarthy/Ruiz

March 27, 2007

We are truly sorry to hear about the loss of Elroy. Elroy was such a kind man who worked tirelessly to ensure that we were able to finance our first home, almost 5 years ago to this date. Besides being a genius with numbers, Elroy could really dance up a storm! We fondly remember him shaking maracas and cutting a rug at our House Warming Party. Thank you Elroy for your kindness, generosity and beautiful spirit. You will be missed.

Andrea Jones

March 26, 2007

I owe a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Smith for his kindness and professionalism in helping my to ownership of my first house. He was very knoweldgable about great programs for young buyers and he made sure that I got a great mortgage. In addition to this, he has been a friend to our family for many years and he will be missed greatly.

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Oliver Fruge

March 26, 2007

I have known Elroy for over 25 years. He was one of only two men that I saw take their sons to the YMCA on a regular basis, over the 15 yrs of my membership there. He was a smart,caring, gentle and loving person, who loved life and his family. He was a low key person who never spoke of his accomplishments. He was a deep thinker and we challenged each other every time we had a chance. Anytime he and I spoke on the phone or in person we always found things to laugh about. Many of our conversations consisted mostly of things to laugh about.We would even laugh about our maturing process. He was the only friend I had that I could laugh with so much and yet when it came to business, he was all business. He and I would always speak of meeting for lunch and "breaking bread" together as a sign of friendship and brotherhood. He was my hero and perhaps "MY BEST FRIEND". A friendship with a person could not come any closer. I will miss my dearest friend and may his soul forever rest in peace.

Deborah Smith-Pink

March 25, 2007

We are truly sorry for your loss and will keep your family in our prayers.

Deborah and Lincoln Pink

Clement Miles

March 25, 2007

Elroy was my dear friend and a friend to my family. We were collegues at IBM corporation and partners in business. We all miss Elroy very much. His sparkling humor was a blessing to us all.

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