Geoffrey N. Smith ’61

Geoff died Aug. 4, 2011, in a one-car crash in Chatham, N.Y.

Born and raised in Cleveland, he came to Princeton from University School in Shaker Heights. At Princeton he was an English major, performed with Theatre Intime and Triangle, and ate at Key and Seal. His senior-year roommates were Ed Mulock, Mort Rible, and Pierce Selwood.

After graduation, Geoff embarked on a career in journalism, pausing only to earn an M.B.A. from New York University in 1970. He was with Forbes for 20 years and was editor of Financial World for another 10 years. In those jobs he traveled widely and interviewed many world business leaders. “I was privileged to be part of the golden age of journalism,” he noted in our 50th-reunion yearbook, “and enjoyed every minute of it. Princeton could not possibly have prepared me better for my profession.”

Geoff is survived by his daughter, Victoria Sartorius; his son, Alexander; four grandchildren; and his five former wives, Molly, Janet, Katherine, Catherine, and Michele. We join all of them, and others, in saying farewell to him.