Robert Smith

1926 - 2024

Robert Wayne Smith ("Bob") went home to be with his Lord Jan. 17, 2024. His wife of 67 years, Peggy, was at his side at their home in Northville, MI.

Bob was born outside of Kokomo, IN, to Roscoe and Myrtle Smith, the youngest of 3 children. Bob enlisted in the Navy in 1944 but was not deployed in World War II. He attended college at Columbia Univ and Wabash College, but deployed as a hospital corpsman in the Korean War. After discharge, he completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at the Univ of Southern California, then went to the Univ of Wisconsin-Madison for his doctorate in speech communication, where he met his wife, Peggy Angliker. They married September 2, 1956. After short stints teaching at various colleges/universities, they came to Alma in 1962, where he taught at Alma College until his retirement in 1992. He and Peggy had 3 children.

Bob's Christian faith was central to his life. At USC and UW-Madison, he had leadership roles in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and was passionate about missions. At the churches where he and Peggy were members, especially Mt. Pleasant (MI) Community Church and East 91st Street Christian Church (Indianapolis), he held leadership roles, serving as elder, chairman of the missions board, and adult Sunday School teacher. At Alma College, he was the faculty advisor for the IVCF group for many years.

Bob pursued learning his whole life, thinking deeply about contemporary issues. He wrote occasional articles for Christianity Today and HIS magazines, exploring how faith should affect the modern Christian's life. He was a contributor to "What They Did Right," a compendium of essays describing good practices by parents that shaped the spiritual lives of their children; was the editor of "Christ and the Modern Mind;" and the author of "The Art of Rhetoric in Alexandria."

Bob is survived by his wife, Peggy; his children, Barbara Soyster (Tom), Kelvin Smith (Becky Miller), and Stephanie DeChambeau (Bruce); 5 grandchildren; and 1 great-granddaughter. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Bethany Christian Services–Caring Connections or Habitat for Humanity.