Morton Smith

Morton Alan Smith, attorney, activist, athlete and sports enthusiast, died in his sleep at home in Boca Raton, Florida on April 14, 2024, at the age of 93.



Mort lived a life full of accomplishments. As a senior at Miami Beach High School, he won the Florida State Oratory contest and was on the debate team that placed third nationally.



His talent and hard work led to an undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 1953, and then, after attending Stanford Law School, a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1957.



After law school, Mort worked for the United States Department of Justice and the United States Treasury Department. He next moved to Rye, New York, and joined Hall, Dickler, Lawler, Kent & Howley, where he rose to become it's Managing Partner.



Mort cared deeply about democratic ideals such as self-representation, the importance and benefits that come from providing children with the best possible public education and was active in both national and local politics (e.g., working on Robert F. Kennedy's senatorial campaign in 1964).



In 1973, Mort served on the School Board for the Rye Union Free School District #5, where he was instrumental in leading the drive to finance, design and build Blind Brook High School, which is known for its strong educational programs and is ranked as one of the best high schools in the United States.



In 1982, Mort led the drive to create the Village of Rye Brook, the first village in over 54 years to be established in New York State. (It is not a coincidence that Blind Brook High School is in Rye Brook).



Mort was born on March 13,1931 in Passaic, New Jersey. Given up for adoption by his birth mother Fritzie Graubard Treeger, Mort was adopted and raised by David and Augusta Smith. The family moved to Miami Beach where Mort met and married Nancy Shagan in 1954. The couple moved to Westchester County, New York and raised three children - Robynn, Jeffrey and Rick. Mort and Nancy divorced in 1973.



Mort married Jane Bentley Saffir in 1979, and they remained married until her death in March of 2021. They traveled widely and enjoyed an active outdoor lifestyle of skiing, tennis and golf. Jane was also very active in politics and worked alongside Mort in the creation of the Village of Rye Brook. Jane had two sons Michael and Richard Saffir, who already knew Mort's children (as they were in the same class years at Blind Brook), and over the years that followed, the blended family was and continues to remain close to each other.



In the mid-1990s Mort and Jane spent their time in both Rye Brook and then increasingly in Boca Raton, Florida, moving to Bocaire Country Club full time in 1997. Mort again became civically active, serving on Bocaire's Board of Directors, including as President. After his Board service ended, Mort co-chaired the committee that oversaw the design and construction of a new 7,000-yard golf course, and remained active in the Bocaire community until his death.



After Jane passed, Mort found happiness and forged a close friendship with Mitzi Renz of White Plains, New York, which lasted until his passing.



Morton Alan Smith is survived by his five children, two grandchildren, three great grandchildren and a coterie of loving friends and extended family.