Benjamin Seaver Smith

Benjamin Seaver Smith, 92, long time Marblehead resident and summer resident of Nelson, NH died peacefully at home on February 3rd after a brief illness. He was born on May 30, 1921 in Yonkers, NY to Laura Seaver and Edric Brooks Smith. The family summered in Nelson NH where Ben at age twelve, met his beloved wife, Joan Vincent. They married in Feb 1945 and enjoyed 51 years together. Ben attended Scarborough School and graduated from Belmont Hill School and Harvard College (class of 1944) with a BS in Engineering. Due to a severe football injury he was frustrated not be accepted for active military service in WWII. However, he contributed greatly to the war effort at GE, where he helped design an underwater unidentified object detector. This was used by the Navy to save many lives on submarines. After the war, Ben had a highly rewarding 28 year career at MIT Instrumentation Laboratory which later became the Charles Draper Laboratory. He helped design the first inertial guidance system and flew on the first transcontinental airplane flight without a pilot. He later worked on the Apollo Project and the Mars Space Probe.

After his retirement Ben and Joan enjoyed traveling, visiting grandchildren in Atlanta and enjoying their cottage in Nelson NH. They made lifelong friends wherever they went. After his wife’s death, Ben found solace in birding which blossomed into a passion. He went on numerous international Audubon trips and thoroughly enjoyed volunteering at Joppa Flats Education Center.

He was a gentle man to his core and a lifelong learner. His many interests, which he enthusiastically shared with others, included sailing, skiing, astronomy, travel, and a commitment to eating blueberries. He was active in the community serving as president of Glover School PTA, member of the Whiting Club, as well as numerous roles in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lynn. He loved to be of service and would fix anything from a car to a clock. He was a wonderful father and grandfather and was loved by many.

Ben is survived by his two daughters and sons in law: Gretchen Smith Ezell and her husband Michael, Marcia Read Smith and her husband Richard Ragin, grandchildren Tucker Read Ezell and Laura Kate Ezell. He also leaves a sister Prudence Smith Giffin and numerous nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by two brothers Edric Brooks Smith Jr. and Cornelius Latta Smith and by grandson Michael Todd Ezell.

A memorial celebration will be held on Saturday, April 12 at 1PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn, 101 Forest Ave in Swampscott Mass. Memorial donations honoring Ben’s love of birding can be sent to Massachusetts Audubon, Joppa Flats, P.O. Box 1558, Newburyport, MA 01950.