Lawrence V. Smith

SMITH-Lawrence V. Smith, 78, passed away August 30, 2010. Larry had a full, rich life in which his work as a professional photographer was most important. He won four Emmy awards for his filming for CBS in Cuba during the Castro revolution, for ABC in Vietnam, and for Mutual of Omaha’s ‘Wild Kingdom’. He filmed from the Arctic Circle to Venezuela. He lived as an aquanaut for two weeks in a “house” 55 feet under Caribbean waters for the Tektite II project. He was an avid flier/photographer in all types of military and civilian aircraft and also enjoyed railroading. Locally, Larry helped form the Jacksonville Motion Picture and Television Council and served as its first president. He had several independent film companies over the years and most recently specialized in transportation photography, building a library of more than 600,000 images. He was the official Jaxport photographer for several years. He quickly took to the digital world and had a company website (http://www.transpixs.com). For those interested in his photography, there is currently an exhibit in Special Collections at the UNF Library through Oct. 15. Larry was a loving husband and father. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Linda Lockwood Smith; his two daughters, Julie Smith and Valerie (husband Mike) Nakamura, and his grandson, Matthew Nakamura; Virginia Leininger, the mother of his children, in Colorado; and a brother, Karl Smith and his family. A visitation will be held on Friday, Sept. 3, from 6 to 8 PM, at COREY-KERLIN FUNERAL HOME, 940 Cesery Blvd. A graveside service in Greenlawn Cemetery will take place on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 11 AM. In recognition of his life, please support the Jacksonville Humane Society.