Harold Wood Smith

Dr. Harold "Skeet" Wood Smith, an Austin resident for the past 67 years, died on Monday, December 22, 2008 at the age of 85. Born February 8, 1923 in Brookfield, Missouri, Dr. Smith's family moved to Texas when he was two years old. Dr. Smith received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He married Patricia Yvonne Richardson in 1942 and served in the United States Navy in both active duty and reserve roles from 1944 until 1955 ultimately reaching the rank of lieutenant. After his active duty service as a Navy Airborne Electronics Officer from 1944 to 1946, Dr. Smith returned to UT Austin as an instructor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Professor Smith taught undergraduate and graduate courses in electrical engineering for 54 years before retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2001. As a founder of UT Austin's Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory, which conducted geomagnetic research projects for the Office of Naval Research, Dr. Smith served as Radio Engineer and Assistant Director for the laboratory before serving as Director from 1973 to 1984. Dr. Smith received numerous honors and awards, including the Student Association Teaching Excellence Award in l959 and the General Dynamics Teaching Award in l960. He was a Life Fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and was a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and Eta Kappa Nu National Honorary Society for Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. He published more than l00 technical papers. Dr. Smith was a member of the Rotary Club of Austin, University Christian Church, Great Hills Golf Club, and the Rockport Country Club. Dr. Smith was an avid golfer, skier, hunter, and fisherman. In addition, he was a lifelong supporter of Texas Longhorn athletics. Dr. Smith is survived by his wife of 66 years, Patricia Smith; daughter, Teri Farmer and her husband Drake Farmer of Austin; grandson, Christopher Farmer of Houston; and granddaughter, Shelby Katz and her husband Shoney Katz and their son, Joshua Ethan Katz of Riverside, Connecticut. He is predeceased by his parents William Bryan Smith and Celia Tarpening Smith and his older brother, William Nelson Smith. His family and friends always appreciated his wit, sense of humor, adventurous spirit, and intelligence. He will be dearly missed. A memorial service will be held at the Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 S. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, 78704, (512) 442-1146, on January 10, 2009, at 2:00 pm Memorial donations may be made to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, Attn: Donor Services, 386 Park Avenue South, 17th Floor, New York, New York, 10016.