Dr. Harold Patton Smith

Born March 12, 1949 in Harlingen, Texas, Harold was the son of the late William P. Smith, an engineer, and Shirley (Gudmanson) Smith, a schoolteacher. He and his older sister Barbara (Don) Herring were both graduates of Harlingen High School. Harold received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas (1971) and remained a loyal Longhorn fan and avid supporter of his home state throughout his life. Soon after, he married Betty (Murray) Smith of Harlingen, Texas. They had three daughters,

Stephanie (Steve) Shafer, Sybil Cohn, and Sarah (Paul) Johnson. Harold was a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School (1975) and went on to train for eight additional years to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. He began his career in 1982 at Nashville’s Baptist Hospital and remained there for 25 years, serving as Chief of Neurosciences from 1992 to 1995, and retiring in 2008. He married Amy (Jenkins) Smith of Brentwood in 1996 and together they had a son Harrison, and daughter, Anna Grace.

His career accomplishments are long and many, but Harold was a man of diverse interests. At a young age, he learned to play the piano and organ at church and developed into a gifted musician. He discovered a lifelong love of bullfighting in high school and trained with a young torero in Mexico, becoming an aficionado of the sport. Always fascinated by airplanes, Harold earned his pilot’s license and enjoyed flying as a hobby and attending airshows with family. In 1992, his heritage led him back to a 150-acre cattle ranch in the hill country south of San Antonio, Texas. A respite from his work life, he could be found there working the cows, smoking Cohiba cigars and delighting in the nesting habits of bluebirds. Harold loved open spaces, global travel and adventure and shared these with his children and grandchildren, whom he adored and was infinitely proud of. He is survived by five grandchildren; Madison Cohn, Abigail and Julia Shafer, and Henry and Grady Johnson.

Harold touched the lives of many and his extended family of patients and their families, staff, and caregivers were devoted to him to the end. His life was full when he was diagnosed in 2008 with early onset dementia at the age of 59. His brilliant mind gradually faded over time as the disease progressed, but his legacy remains.

Memorials may be made in his honor to Guardian Hospice, 741 Cool Springs Blvd Suite 102, Franklin, TN, 37067; or to the Nashville Chapter of The National Guild of Organists, 5111 Marc Court, Nashville, TN, 37211; or to the Texas Longhorn Foundation, 2100 San Jacinto Blvd., Austin, TX, 78712. Visitations from 6-7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 28th, and from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 29th (Fleming Center at the Cathedral), followed by a Mass Celebration at 10 a.m., will all be held at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, 2015 West End Ave. Nashville, 37203. Arrangements have been entrusted to Marshall Donnelly Combs Funeral Home, 201 25th Avenue North. Please visit: http://www.dignitymemorial.com/marshall-donnelly-combs-funeral-home for online registry.