Dr. David Leslie Smiley

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University of Wisconsin Wake Forest University

David Smiley Obituary

Dr. David Leslie Smiley, 83, formerly of Winston-Salem, died Monday, Dec. 27, 2004, at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Bullock. He was born March 17, 1921, in Clarksdale, Miss., to Francis Wren and Margaret Hazlewood Smiley. Dr, Smiley received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and was a professor of history at Wake Forest University from 1950 until his retirement in 1991. He taught the Reid Staton Bible Class at Wake Forest Baptist Church, which was broadcast on WFDD for more than 10 years. He was preceded in death by a brother, William Smiley. Survivors include his wife, Helen Madison Smiley, of Bullock; his daughter, Kay Smiley McKaughan and husband, Joshua, of Bullock; a brother, Charles Smiley and wife of Michigan; and a sister, Sara Smiley Crawford, of Mississippi. The family will receive friends from noon to 2 p.m. today, Dec. 30, at Vogler & Sons Reynolda Road Chapel. A private burial will follow in Forsyth Memorial Park. A memorial service will be conducted at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005, at Davis Chapel at Wake Forest University. Memorials may be made to Hearts of Hospice, P.O. Box 15005, Durham, NC 27704.

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Published by Winston-Salem Journal from Dec. 29 to Dec. 30, 2004.

Memories and Condolences
for David Smiley

10 Entries

Jack Crosswell

January 7, 2005

So sorry that my dear friend and teacher has gone...May the Good Lord bless you...

Debbie Wilson

January 6, 2005

To the Smiley family - I can only imagine your grief at the loss of such a warm and vital man. Dr. Smiley was THE highlight of my four years at Wake Forest. He was my teacher, my mentor, my advisor and my friend. He taught me so many things about life and history and increased the great joy I had while I was a student at Wake by his very presence. I feel extremely lucky to have known such a great and wonderful man as he. Please know that many of us feel that the world is a little smaller and sadder simply because he is not with us any more. He made history come alive and I know that he will live on in each of us who carry such fond and wonderful memories of his stories and his many kindnesses. My prayers are with you as you endure his loss from your lives. I know God will continue to bless you as you heal and I know that Dr. Smiley is in heaven with Him today.

Bob Sitton

January 4, 2005

David Smiley was a warm, generous, witty and brilliant professor who gave many of us the gift of a love of history. His lectures were so funny it was often difficult to take notes. His performance as FDR (complete with wheelchair) and the “Marlon Brando”-type hunkered over the radar screen on Pearl Harbor day are emblazoned in my memory. So also is his caution that war has a way of blotting out moral sensibilities and becoming the greater evil. I will never think of “Charley’s Aunt” without remembering Dr. Smiley in drag. He looked like a ferret trying to wriggle out of a dress. Above all he asked me a question I am still trying to answer, fifty years later: What were all the consequences of the invention of the steam engine? Thank you, Dr. Smiley. You made us all think

Jim Apple

January 1, 2005

My condolences to the Smiley family. Dr. Smiley epitomized the parade of gentle souls who graced the classrooms of our Wake Forest during the second half of the 20th century. The entire Wake Forest family shares in your loss. Jim Apple, '75

Margaret Herring

December 30, 2004

Thank you.

Thank you dear Smiley for teaching me about critical thinking and encouraging me to question the status quo. Thank you for giving me a perspective of history that was different from what I had been taught before. Thank you for Friday night spaghetti suppers in your little home that was a former army barracks off the road to Henderson and for all the delightful visits afterward through the years. Thank you for calling me on it when I was wrong.

Thank you also for being there at Normandy on December 7, 1944. And for surviving. Thank you for your profound understanding of the stupidity of war

Bon Voyage, Dear Smiley. I will see you again in the spirit world.

My sincere condolences to Helen and Kay and the rest of the family.

Margaret

Miriam Allred Todd

December 29, 2004

While a student at Wake Forest from 1953-57, I attended Dr. Smiley's Sunday School class. Although I never had him for a history class, I grew to respect his wit and wisdom. He is a legend within himself and has touched many lives to inspire us to reach beyond what we thought we could be. May God bless you in the knowledge of the fact that your loved one was a very, very special man. Sincerely, Miriam Allred Todd, Class of '57, Wake Forest University

Sheila Snow Godard

December 29, 2004

Kay,

Please accept my deepest sympathy for the loss of your father. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. I met your father several times while we were room mates in college at WFU and he was also such a nice person. May God's angels watch over you and comfort you and give you strength.

Mary Edmonds

December 29, 2004

Dr. Smiley was a kind, learned man and an excellent teacher. He always told me that teaching was fun, not work, and I believed him. He made learning fun. I am thankful for his life.

Kathy Fain

December 29, 2004

I was so sorry to hear of Dr. Smiley's passing. I took several of his classes when I attended WFU.

He was always so vivacious and engaged in class. A true southern gentleman. He will be missed. I am sorry distance prevents me from giving my condolences in person. I hope than soon your happy memories of him will lift your spirits.

William Dawkins

December 29, 2004

I want to offer my deepest regrets for the loss of Dr. Smiley. He was on of my teachers (and he was truly a teacher) at Wake Forest and I found him to be one of my most truly memorable instructors. I enjoyed his Sunday School classes on the radio so very much. May God offer you comfort in this time of loss. Bill and Jan Dawkins

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