Olin Smith

1934 - 2020

HOUSTON TX — Dr. Olin Glenn Smith, a retired NASA engineer with a long and distinguished career, passed away at his home in Houston, Texas on April 24th. He was 85. Glenn was surrounded by those closest to his failing heart, his wife of 61 years Sue by his side, and his four children. It could not have been a more peaceful and dignified launch to the heavens for this distinguished engineer, rocket scientist, and lifelong visionary. Glenn was born July 15, 1934 in Cridersville, Ohio. Growing up at the end of the depression, he embodied diligence and fortitude from an early age and always had a grateful, positive outlook on life. He took pride in the simple pleasures of the pre-WW2 era in a small town: big band music, unreliable cars, free Saturday night movies on Main Street where he worked one summer as an usher, among many local jobs he held, including caddy at nearby Shawnee Country Club. Glenn was a class of 1952 graduate of Cridersville High School. He graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1956 with High Distinction and top of his class in the College of Engineering. He would later be honored by ONU in 2013 with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Glenn married the love of his life, Lilyette "Sue" Montgomery of Bluffton, on February 1st, 1959 at First Methodist Church in Bluffton. His education continued, earning in 1963 a MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. Just two years later Glenn defended his PhD thesis on the topic of heat transfer in nuclear reactors. From 1956-1967, he was employed by Westinghouse Electric in Lima as a design engineer for electric power generators for aircraft and the space program and was a heat transfer specialist at the Atomic Power Labs in Pittsburgh. In 1967, Dr. Smith moved his family to Houston and the promise of the NASA Johnson Space Center, to be part of our nation's journey to the moon and beyond. He would spend 27 years on numerous projects, thriving in the team atmosphere at NASA. He always gave credit to the group effort, never focusing on his own accomplishments. As a project engineer and manager, Glenn worked on the Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle and Space Station projects. After retiring from NASA, he continued to consult on space launch systems, write articles for Space News and contribute his knowledge to Space Center Houston's educational efforts. Last summer in July 2019, Glenn was honored by his hometown of Cridersville during the weeklong 50th Anniversary of the Lunar Landing, where he was a featured guest at the Firemen's Jamboree, rode in two parades, and spoke to a packed house at the Otterbein Community Center about his experiences at NASA and friendship with Neil Armstrong. With family and childhood friends, including Gene Deifendeifer and others in attendance, he celebrated his 85th birthday and was honored by the Cridersville Historical Society with an exhibit of his life's works and contributions to the space program. The festive week culminated with Glenn attending the 'First on the Moon' gala at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta (spearheaded by Greg Myers), where he was previously inducted into the Wapakoneta School District Hall of Fame, along with Neil in 2002. Beyond his accomplishments in engineering, Glenn also was the consummate amateur athlete. A three-sport athlete (basketball, baseball, golf), while at Ohio Northern University he was a standout all American Basketball player, holding many scoring and rebounding records to this day. He spent a semester as a pitcher in the minor leagues for the Philadelphia Phillies while maintaining top grades. In 1997 he was inducted into the ONU Athletic Hall of Fame. Glenn was a lifelong fitness buff, completing the Houston Marathon in 1984 and working out daily until two months before his passing. In 2002 Glenn and his lifelong golf buddy, Dan Arnett, won the Tradition golf tournament at the Bay Oaks Country Club, where Glenn was a member. The final years of his life together with Sue revolved around their many grand and great grandchildren and gatherings at their home, always the hub of family holidays and special occasions for their brood of 30+. He was an ever-caring patriarch who offered a full life to his family to the very end. Glenn is survived by his wife Sue, their four children and their spouses (Marty and Carri Smith, Robin and Jack Stanley, Laurie Colangelo, Gretchen and Andrew McFarland), 14 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. To honor Glenn's life, a beautiful, intimate service was held for immediate family at Crowder Funeral Home in Clear Lake, Texas on April 30th, led by Rev. Katrina Pennington, Senior Associate Pastor at Clear Lake Presbyterian Church, where Glenn was a member for more than four decades. In honor of Glenn, donations may be made to the Cridersville Historical Society, or ONU Department of Engineering.