Gregory Smith

Smith, Gregory Stapleton 66, of San Marcos, CA died suddenly on March 13, 2014 doing what he loved - swimming with a masters team - in Lima, Peru. A resident of California since 1969, Mr. Smith was a successful consulting engineer who had many outside interests. He was an active outdoorsman who enjoyed hiking and camping. An avid motorcyclist logging thousands of miles annually, Mr. Smith visited all 50 of the United States, most of them on his Harley Davidson, when he turned 50 years old. A former resident of Lone Pine, CA and member of the Owens Valley Committee in Bishop, CA, Mr. Smith was an environmental activist with an interest in the history of water rights in the Owens Valley. Upon his death, he was completing a historical novel about the region. Mr. Smith began his career as an oceanographer. He traveled extensively in the Middle East as an engineer and diver working on the construction of offshore oil wells. An accomplished mathematician, he transferred those skills to his work as an electrical engineer. In recent years, Mr. Smith developed an interest in philanthropic work in Peru, where he set up a computer lab at the Puericultorio Perez Aranibar, which houses and teaches disadvantaged children. Mr. Smith was born April 9, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio to William J. and Betty E. Smith. He lived with his mother and grandparents in Detroit and, beginning in 1954, with his mother and stepfather, Robert A. Brown, in Maryland, Massachusetts, Detroit and for seven years in Northbrook, IL, where he graduated in 1965 from Glenbrook North High School. He received a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1972 from University of Michigan and a master's in electrical engineering from San Diego State University in 1991. Citizen of the world and friend to all, Mr. Smith was a loving father, husband and brother. He is survived by his wife, Carol; daughter, Kristina; son, Jeremy; grandson, Artyom; sister, Andrea; brothers, William and Gary; and former wife, Lorraine. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Smith's memory may be sent to the California Native Plant Society, 707 K St., Suite 1, Sacramento, CA 95816 or Water Education Foundation, 717 K Street, Suite 317, Sacramento, CA 95814. A celebration of Mr. Smith's life will be held May 4.