LUDLOW, Vt. – Robert J. “Bob” Smith, 97, died peacefully in his Myrtle Beach home on Jan. 3, 2024, with his son John and John’s wife Liz, as well as a close family friend by his side. He was born April 29, 1926, at his aunt’s home in Ludlow, Vt., and attended Black River Academy until it closed, and graduated from Black River High School in 1942.
Bob had an incredible and interesting life. In the 1940s he was in the Air Force, stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, when the war ended. After returning home he met his first wife Phylis Pelkey, and they had two children Barbara and John Smith. Bob bulldozed trails at what would become Okemo Ski Area, where he later became a ski instructor and eventually the mountain manager. He left Okemo to become the New England dealer for Tucker Sno-Cats. During this time he also bought an airplane, built an airstrip, and then got his pilots license.
In 1978, he retired and, with his second wife Jean Brough, traveled back and forth between Vermont, Colorado, and South Carolina. After extensive traveling, in his late 70s he went back to logging on his land, as well as selling firewood and rough-cut lumber that he milled on his property. This was his passion, along with mowing, and he did this until he was 97, when the numerous accidents he had in the woods and his age finally caught up to him.
Bob loved sports, most of which he began later in life. He began skiing in his 20s; took up tennis at 47; and snow mobiling, horseback riding, and golf in his 60s. He was an avid hunter, and at one time or another shot deer, bear, elk, moose, caribou, and wild boar all over the country.
Bob is predeceased by his first wife Phylis and brother Bill, Jack Nash husband of Barbara Nash, and John’s first wife Lynn. Bob is survived by his wife Jean; his daughter Barbara Nash; her daughter Laura; his son John and his wife Liz; John’s two children Jeremy Smith and wife Joelle, and Zach Smith and wife Amy; great-grandchildren Eliana, Dylan, Maxwell, and Otto; stepchildren Randy Benson and wife Kitty, Marty Benson and wife Roxi, and SueAnne Starr; along with four step-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. A Celebration of Life will take place in Ludlow, Vt., in the spring. May he rest in peace.