Richard E. Smith (Florida, Alpha Eta ’69)

Richard Smith My younger Brother, Richard, joined Chapter Eternal on May 5, 2008, after a courageous fight with ocular melanoma. This is a rare and lethal cancer that quickly spreads to other parts of the body, especially the liver. In the end it wound up being a fight he just could not win. In his last couple of days with us, all he wanted to do was to go home. He would have been 59 in June.

Richard pledged Alpha Eta Chapter at the University of Florida during my junior year. It was my highest honor and privilege to have been able to personally initiate him. It was a very memorable occasion and probably the most difficult of the many individual initiations for me personally. Having your own Brother join you in the fraternity that you love and that means so much to you is so truly special and rewarding. We shared our fraternity experiences frequently.

He married his high school sweetheart, Deborah, over 30 years ago, and has a daughter and two sons. All of them also live in Tampa, Florida. He was an avid Florida Gator fan, history buff, and expert joke teller. He could liven up any crowd under any circumstances. The world as we know it is not as funny a place without him. He was a bright light that will be missed by his friends and loved ones.

Richard found a niche in the petroleum industry, and worked for Central Oil Company, an independent locally owned company in our hometown of Tampa. Most recently he was a loyal employee for many years and general manager of the southeast region of Tex Par Energy, spending about every other week in southern Georgia and northern Florida.

At the funeral his oldest son, Rick, said “his good will and ability to inspire laughter were rivaled only by his love for his family, and for his friends. He was a man who brightened the world around him with him warm demeanor, and seemingly endless talent for humor. He was a beacon of wisdom, of valor, and of love. He taught me many things simply by being the marvelous man he was. He was a man of unshakable character, of an indestructible moral foundation, and one whose word was of the absolute highest value. As I grew, I would unknowingly become a student of the man whose actions were akin to honor codes of times long past. I can only hope that I will one day begin to reach the immeasurable caliber of the man you were.”

Similarly, our youngest brother, Stephen, said, “Richard was our family comedian, family historian, chaplain, and master of ceremonies. He read voraciously and remembered every detail. He could sketch, paint, sculpt, write beautifully, and was a gifted story teller. He was the Mark Twain and Robin Williams wrapped up in one magical package. He had special insight into just about every aspect of life. He taught us that it is healthy to reflect, and to question everything. But probably his greatest lesson he taught deep into his battle with cancer. He was heroic in illness. From the first moment of diagnosis his great worry was for those that loved him. He never complained and the few times he spoke of it, he protected us, saying he was beating it, and not to worry.”

It was also my pleasure to reflect on my time as his older brother, Pike Brother, and the special times we had together. Since there were quite a few Pikes in attendance, I had to mention how truly special fraternity friendships are, and, of course, that wonderful quality of brotherly love. I concluded with the moving words of the Hollies famous song from the early 1970’s ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.’ We so very well know that it truly is for all of us “a long, long road from which there is no return.”

Brothers mine, be assured that our Chapter Eternal in now a much more entertained place now that Richard has arrived. Save a place for us, Brother.

– A. Frank Smith
(Florida, Alpha Eta ’66)