Robert Walter Smith ’45

Bob entered Princeton from John Burroughs School in Webster Groves, Mo., and joined Quadrangle Club. He received an A.B. from Princeton in 1948, after serving as a lieutenant commander in the Coast Guard, flying P2Vs.  

Bob remained in the St. Louis area, marrying his second wife, Virginia Davis, in 1964. Together they raised his three children and her three children by previous marriages. He spent his St. Louis-area career in industrial relations, ending at Hussmann Refrigerator Co., the world’s largest manufacturer of refrigerated food-store display equipment. In 1974, Bob joined Dresser Industries as director of industrial relations and moved from the St. Louis area to Houston, Texas.  

By our 50th reunion, Bob and Ginna had retired. They were enjoying being parents and grandparents.  

In addition to Ginna, Bob is survived by his children, Jacquelyn, Randall, and Donna Leigh; his stepchildren, Jennifer Hayes Best, Walter A. Hayes III, and Christopher C. Hayes; and seven grandchildren, to all of whom the class expresses its sympathy.