Dr. John David "Dave" Smith

1944 - 2022

Dr. John David "Dave" Smith

Dr. John David "Dave" Smith was born on November 21, 1944, in Roanoke, Virginia, the son of Joyce and Walter "Pete" Smith.

Dave developed a passion at an early age for helping those with special needs – working at Camp Easterseals in the summers, and from then beginning a more than 40-year career in Special Education.

After completing his Doctoral degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, Dave served for well over four decades as a college professor and administrator. For 17 years, he was Professor of Special Education at Lynchburg College while also serving as Dean of Graduate Studies. He then served as Department Chair at University of South Carolina. Subsequently, he was the Dean of the School of Education at Longwood University and the Provost at the University of Virginia-Wise. He then assumed a faculty position at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. After retiring, he taught as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Richmond.

Dave was the consummate teacher, actively engaging thousands of professionals in training in Education, Special Education, and Counseling - launching them into careers in teaching and helping. His storytelling was legendary across the campuses where he taught and throughout the nation. He was able to weave life stories into important information, positions, and perspectives – particularly of persons with disabilities.

Dave made a profound impact on the field of disabilities and Special Education. He was the author of 14 books and nearly 100 articles in professional journals, making numerous contributions to the professional literature on special education, human services, and public policy. One of the integrating themes of his research was a concern for the rights and dignity of people with disabilities. His writing had a deep impact on the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization, miscegenation, and racial discrimination. His most recent book, Transplant, explored the untold story behind the initial heart transplant in Virginia.

Dave was known by colleagues as the "conscience" of the field of intellectual disability as he consistently tackled critical ethical and moral issues in his writing and national professional presentations. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and received the Burton Blatt Humanitarian Award from the Council for Exceptional Children (Division on Developmental Disabilities), a professional organization for which he served as President.

Dave was a loving and devoted father and grandfather. He will be loved and missed by his family, his wife, Joyce of 54 years; children, Lincoln Abdullah, Allison, and Sallie; his grandchildren, Sam, Charlie, June, and Ames; brother, Carl; cousin, Orban, nieces and nephews, and many dear friends and colleagues.

Dave and Joyce had a full life together, traveling nationally and internationally and enjoying time with friends and family. They modeled by example and held values of equal rights, justice, and humanity.

For all who would like to celebrate Dave's life, an outdoor memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on April 30, 2022, (rain date May 7, 2022) at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Glen Allen, 11105 Cauthorne Rd., Glen Allen, VA 23059, (804) 752-6005. Please check https://www.blileys.com/obituaries/obituary-listings for weather updates and to subscribe to Dave's obituary.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to support the Dr. J. David Smith Fund at The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, 1100 Commerce St., Lynchburg, VA 24503 (online at lynchburgfoundation.org). The fund will provide scholarship support to special education teachers at the University of Lynchburg.

"Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others." ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.