David Smith Obituary

Mr. David P. Smith David Smith died on May 13, 2006 at the age of 83 in Long Beach, CA. Mr. Smith served in the U.S. Marine Corp during WWII in the South Pacific and Tientsin, China from 1942 to 1946. Mr. Smith was born in Philadelphia and moved with his family to California and Altadena in 1928. He attended schools in Altadena and Pasadena and was on their Golf Teams from 1936 to 1940. David won the Southern California Junior Golf Championship at Montebello Country Club when he was 17. He also played on the Stanford golf team from 1940 to 1942. Mr. Smith graduated with a Master's Degree in Journalism from Stanford University in 1949, after returning from the war. Mr. Smith became a front page By-Line reporter with the Honolulu Star Bulletin where he made live helicopter reports of the 1950 eruptions of the Mauna Loa Volcano. He later served as Publicist for the Castle and Cook Company in Honolulu. David returned to California in 1956 where he served in the Editorial Room of the Los Angeles Times - Mirr or and the LA Examiner. He also spent two years as a publicist for Bob Hope and traveled with him as he entertained U.S. Troops in Europe and Russia. Having spent a tumultuous decade in the newspaper/publicist business, Mr. Smith decided to settle down and joined Douglas (later McDonald Douglas) Aircraft Company in 1962 as Technical Editor for the Engineering Department working on proposals for Space and Aircraft projects. His hobbies were playing golf (he shot his Age when he was in his 70's), sailing and hiking and camping in the local and Hi Sierra Mountains. He married Barbara Goldstein and their son Matthew was born in October 1970. David provided fatherly support as Matthew excelled at baseball and as a violinist. He later played 1st violin section of Mehli Mehta's Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Smith is survived by his sister, Portia Holmes; his brother, Stephen Smith; his son, Matthew and Matthew's wife, Karen; their two granddaughters, Amanda and Sarah; and his two step-sons, Gregory and David Goldstein. A Memorial service is being held at the home of his brother Stephen at 11:00 AM on Sunday, May 21st in Palos Verdes Estates, California. To send the family a message or share a memory, please go to the mortuary's website, www.LAfuneral.com McCormick Mortuary (310) 792-7580