Charles Jacob Smith Jr. ’42

Charles Smith died of Alzheimer’s disease Feb. 14, 2010, in Escondido, Calif.  

Charles was born into the world of service. His father, Dr. Charles Smith Sr., was president of Roanoke College in Roanoke, Va.  

Charles attended Phillips Academy, Andover, and at Princeton was manager of the Student Tutoring Association and a member of Elm Club. He graduated with honors in the Divisional Program in the Humanities.  

After graduation, Charles began a career that would occupy him until retirement 44 years later: He became a business manager at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. During World War II this laboratory worked closely with the Navy Bureau of Ordnance on projects involving guided missiles and proximity fuses. With time he became involved in the entire range of business activities at the laboratory.

In 1987 he and his wife, Nita, retired to San Diego, Calif. There he enjoyed access to the natural world and the opportunity to travel.  

The class sends condolences to Nita; his sons, Justin and Robert; his daughters Ann Rynders, Laura Barry, and Terri Leigh Howard; 10 grandchildren, two step-grandchildren; and three great grand-children.