Dana P. Smith ’51

Dana was born April 7, 1927, in Glendale, Calif., to Thomas and Hazel Prom Smith.

He came to Princeton after having served for two years in the Army, and was a religion major. He was active in the Westminster Fellowship, belonged to Prospect Club, and roomed with Bill Webb.

A graduate of Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, he was ordained in 1954, and over the years served as a parish minister in five states.

He developed a liturgy in Navajo, was jailed twice for his participation in the civil rights movement, and earned two doctoral degrees from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

A resident of Flagstaff, Ariz., in his later years, he was a master gardener and author of a regular column called the “High Country Gardener” in the Arizona Daily Sun. Dana loved to cook and published his favorite recipes under the heading “Old Fart’s Kitchen.”

Opinionated, articulate, and outspoken, he irritated some, delighted others, and will most certainly be missed.

Dana died of a heart attack June 28, 2015. He is survived by his wife, Gretchen; his children, Timothy, Paul, and Elizabeth Esparza; and his granddaughter, Dana Silva. His brothers, Thomas and David; and his former wife, Grace Marie, predeceased him.