Christopher C. Smith ’56

Kit died Dec. 27, 2024, in Hawaii.

Born in Honolulu, he came to Princeton from Phillips Andover, following his brother Richard C. Smith ’54. On campus he played trombone in the orchestra, Triangle Club, and Marching Band, for which he won the senior Osborn Award. He joined Colonial and wrote his music thesis on “American Military Bands.”

After graduation, Kit served as an officer on a destroyer out of San Diego, Calif. In 1959, he earned an M.A. from Stanford and then worked as a financial writer for The San Diego Union followed by the Honolulu Advertiser. His writing was recognized with a 1978 media award for economic understanding.

Kit and his wife, Marjorie Nurse, also a Stanford graduate, were deeply devoted to their religious faith, which helped through the tragic death of their daughter Patty in 1981. Running the 1979 Honolulu Marathon with her was a highpoint of Kit’s life. Many other marathons followed with 35 completed in less than three hours, including his finishing first in the 2005 Philadelphia Marathon among men aged 70 or older.

Kit is survived by Marjorie, their daughters Suzanne Smith and Sandra Bramhill, and grandchildren Ian and Mark Bramhill.