HARRY WILLIAM (BILL) SMITH JR.
Harry William (Bill) Smith, Jr. died on August 10, 2016 at his home in Cooperstown, NY. He was 88. He was born October 22, 1927 in Utica, and raised in Richfield Springs and Cooperstown, NY. Bill liked to point out that he was born in Utica’s Faxton Hospital because Cooperstown’s Bassett Hospital wasn’t open at that time. He is the son of Evelyn Whatley Wheeler of Cooperstown, NY and Harry William Smith of Minneapolis, MN. He was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Richfield Springs High School. He earned a B.S. in 1945 from Union College through the Navy V-12 Program and studied business at Syracuse University. His Richfield Springs science teacher, Dr. Brandt, involved his class in various eye-opening scientific experiments, including making and detonating explosive devices, igniting his lifelong love of pyrotechnics, engineering and mechanization, and instilling an appetite for challenge and excitement.
Bill joined the Ford Motor Company’s Executive Management Training Program in 1947 and then relocated to Norwich in 1949 where he bought a Ford automotive dealership, making him one of the youngest dealers in the country. He was President of Smith-Norwich from 1949-2004 as well as H. W. Smith & Sons, Inc., Harry W. Smith Real Estate Corp., and Smith- Cooperstown, Inc. in Cooperstown. He was a partner in Nordic Ford in Burlington, VT. Bill was a member of the Ford National Dealer Council from l957-59 and Vice-Chairman from l981-1987 as well as a member of the initial Ford Taurus development team. He was a Director of the New York State Auto Dealers Association and a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. He was the past chairman of the Ford Dealers Advertising Fund (FDAF), and he was the Time Magazine Quality Dealer of the Year in 2000.
As a race car driver in the late 1950’s and early ’60’s, Bill won numerous Formula Junior national and regional events with Rev-Em Racing. He gave up racing for businesses associated with the automobile industry. Bill was also a director of Team McLaren, Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, Ltd. and Mayer Motor Racing; chairman and founder of McLaren Engines, Inc. in Livonia, MI; president of McLaren North America, Inc; and co-chairman of ASCMcLaren. He was a founding member of CART (Championship Automobile Racing Teams), and Chairman of APG Hewitt Hose USA. During this time Team McLaren won five Can-Am Championships, two Indianapolis 500s, and two Formula One World Championships, while McLaren North America’s partnership with BMW scored numerous IMSA victories. He served on many boards throughout his life, all of which focused on helping his local communities. He was a founder of the Greater Norwich Foundation; president and director of the Norwich United Way and the Norwich Chamber of Commerce; chairman of the l950’s Campaign for Chenango Memorial Hospital; and president, director and chairman of the Capital Campaign for the Norwich YMCA. He served as director of the Central New York Civilian Defense Transportation System; was a trustee, vice president, and treasurer of Glimmerglass Opera and Head of the Lake (Otsego Golf Club) in Cooperstown. He is a Regent Emeritus of LeMoyne College and was a trustee of the SUNY Morrisville State College Foundation. He also volunteered his time for Union College (NY), Hamilton College (NY), the New Hampton School (NH), the Vail Valley Medical Center (CO), St. Paul’s and St. Bartholomew’s churches in Norwich (NY), the American Legion, and The Boy Scouts of America.
He served on corporate boards including New York Central Mutual Insurance, The National Bank & Trust Company of Norwich (NBT Bank), Victory Markets, Craine Silo Company, Norwich Manufacturing Company, Reva Plastics, and the Bully Hill Vineyards. He divided his time between Norwich and Cooperstown and Vail, CO. He was a founding member of the Norwich Lost Pond Club and the Game Creek Club in Vail. He was also a member of the Camp Robbers, the Bohemian Club, the Mohican Club, the Cooperstown Country Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the Indy 500 Old Timers.
His favorite pastimes were skiing, motor racing, boating, traveling, farming, pyrotechnics and, most of all, socializing. He loved spending hours on his tractor and bulldozer, creating ponds and sculpting the landscape of his farm, all while battling to a draw with the local beaver population. He spent over fifty winters in Vail with his family, and prior to that many years in Stowe, VT and Kitzbühel, Austria, where he was the third American to win the Austrian Golden Snow Star in 1964.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Patricia Manley Smith, and his children, H. William Smith III (Brigitte) of Mill Valley, CA; Jacqueline S. Littlejohn of Weston, CT; Tracy S. Fauver (Scott) of Bedford, NY; Christopher M. Smith (Deborah) of Petaluma, CA; and Wendy W. Smith of Santa Barbara, CA; and his seven grandchildren: H. William Smith IV; Nicholas A. Smith; Lily K. Fauver; Daisy M. Fauver; George S. Fauver; Conrad F. Smith; and Calvin W. Smith. He is also survived by his siblings, Rosebelle S. Broeffle of Vero Beach, FL; Edward C. Smith (Norma) of Cooperstown, NY; and James D. Smith (Mary Jane) of Norwich, NY. He was predeceased by his siblings, Robert F. Smith and Shirley S. McCabe.
The family will be receiving those who wish to pay their respects at St. Bartholomew’s Church’s Monsignor Festa Parish Center, Norwich, NY on Monday, August 29 from 2-3:30pm. There will also be calling hours on Tuesday, August 30 from 5-6:30pm at the Fenimore House in Cooperstown, NY followed by a celebration of his life at 7:00pm.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Greater Norwich Foundation ℅ NBT Bank NA, 52 South Broad Street, Norwich, NY 13815.