Richard Allen Smith entered the land of the living on January 23, 2017, at Pheasant Wood Nursing Home in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Richard entered the land of the living on November 25, 1933, at Thetford, Vermont, the eldest of six children of Ralph Arthur Smith and his wife Marion Stanley.

At the age of 13, Dick worked for the State of Vermont scything grass along its highways; and every summer thereafter, he found some type of employment with local farmers. After graduation from Thetford Academy in 1951 and based solely on his high school chemistry, Richard was employed in the laboratory of the Assay Office of the Elizabeth Mine in Stratford, Vermont. In April 1953, Richard joined the United States Air Force. After basic training at Samson Naval Base in the Finger Lake area of New York, the base his father had his basic training in World War II, Dick went on to flight school becoming a navigator and was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, California. While at Travis Air Force Base, Dick met Anne Marie Hessler from Chatham, Massachusetts, who was a 2nd Lt. in the Air Force and also stationed at Travis. They married on August 3, 1957. Shortly after the birth of their first child, Richard was transferred to Schilling Air Force Base in Saline County, Kansas.

Dick continued as a navigator in the Fifth Bomb Wing until the fall of 1962 when his high score on an IBM computer efficiency test, again based solely on his high school education, landed him in Headquarters Company at Strategic Air Command in Belmont, Nebraska, where he began writing computer programs and enrolled some college courses during the remainder of his time in the Air Force. In 1968, he was transferred to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. During his 20 years of service, Richard completed over 130 college hours and considered himself, very fortunate that 19 years of that service time was spent stateside with his family. Richard also served in Headquarters Company in Vietnam from July 4, 1971, until his father’s death in 1972.

Major Richard A. Smith retired from the Air Force in April 1973 and settled the family in Chatham, Massachusetts. Like many Vietnam veterans at the time, he had a difficult time finding employment. He often said the only reason he was hired as the Auditor and Senior Security Officer of the Cape Cod Bank was because his boss could not spell computer. In 1978, Richard was hired by Digital Equipment Corporation (also known as DEC) to create and unify the accounting system throughout DEC’s global operations. Dick accepted DEC’s offer of early retirement when DEC decided to merge with Compaq.

Dick has served 18 years on the Board of Directors of Community Council of Nashua, Trustee of the Monadnock Land Trust, is an active member of Nashua Baptist Church, a Gideon, and a member of the American Legion.

While Dick enjoyed fishing, playing the harmonica and accordion, crossword puzzles, cutting the firewood needed for the winter, improving the grounds and appearance of his home, sugaring, was a proficient carpenter, and did his own car repairs, but he liked flying the best.

After the death of his wife Anne in February 2001, he met the former Mary Ellen Rhoads; and they were married on Sunday, June 22, 2003, immediately following the morning service at Nashua Baptist Church. They spent many hours researching their family histories in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Indiana through both documentation and DNA.


Richard was predeceased by his daughter Patricia Marie Smith in September 2007, his son Michael Allen Smith in May 2011, his mother in February 2013, and his brothers Stanley Arthur Smith in November 2012, and Larry Arthur Smith in March 2015.

SERVICES: A Funeral Service will be celebrated Monday, January 30, 2017, at 11:00 AM at the Nashua Baptist church, 555 Broad St., Nashua, NH 03063. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. A visitation will be held from 10:00 am – 11:00 am at the Nashua Baptist Church (1 hour prior to the funeral service). Burial will take place in the spring at Union Village Cemetery, Academy Rd., Norwich, VT 05055. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Richard’s loving memory to: Nashua Baptist Church, 555 Broad Street, Nashua, NH 03063; Gideon International, 50 Century Blvd, Nashville, TN 37214; SoldierStrong, 1127 High Ridge Road, #124, Stamford, CT 06905 or online at www.SoldierStrong.org; or Compassus, 170 S. River Rd. Bldg 2, Ste 2, Bedford, NH 03110. The Davis Funeral Home, 1 Lock St., Nashua, NH 03064 is in charge of arrangements. An online guest-book is available at www.davisfuneralhomenh.com. (603) 883-3401 “ONE MEMORY LIGHTS ANOTHER.”