R. Banks Smith

R. Banks Smith passed peacefully at the age of 93 on September 21, 2024, in his Oakmont home where he and his family lived for nearly 60 years. A lifelong Pittsburgher, Banks was born on November 9, 1930, and grew up in Mount Lebanon before attending Penn State University - an Alma mater he and his late wife shared - and the University of Pittsburgh law school.
Banks spent his life as a successful businessman, avid golfer, and dyed-in-the-wool Penn State football fan. His career as a corporate attorney for Alcoa took him around the world, including 5 years spent living in Lausanne, Switzerland where he and his wife raised their young boys before moving to Oakmont.
Those that knew Banks know that a big part of his heart belonged to Oakmont Country Club and the game of golf. After joining Oakmont in 1957, the club was a veritable second home where Banks leaves behind an influential and lasting legacy. Over his nearly 70-year membership, Banks served as President of the Club, President and Founding member of the Fownes Foundation, and Chairman of the Grounds Committee.
In the mid-1990s Banks earned the nickname "Old Chainsaw' for leading the initially controversial restoration project that took OCC from a leafy landscape back to its original, more barren design inspired by the famous 'links' lands of Scotland. His efforts were hailed by Golf Digest as "what will long be regarded as one of the most definitive architectural renaissances in golf history."
In the summers after a hot round of golf, Banks would head down to the pool for a swim with his granddaughters, Samantha and Melissa and a Green Frog ice cream before retiring to his back porch at home for cocktails. Banks never met 5 o'clock without a martini in hand, the latest golf game on TV, and the promise of something sweet for dessert.
Banks absolutely relished weekly lunches at OCC (accompanied by a Guinness draft) with his loyal and steadfast friends, Buck Bucci and Bob Wagner.
The family (and most of all Banks) are grateful for the friendship and companionship provided by loving care givers Renee Wagner and Laura Amos.
Banks was preceded in death by his late wife, Janet, who passed earlier this year. He is survived by his two sons, Michael and wife Jody, granddaughters Samantha and Melissa and husband Jon and youngest son Christopher and wife Gail.
Arrangements entrusted to the BURKET-TRUBY FUNERAL HOME CREMATION AND ALTERNATIVE SERVICES INC., Oakmont.