Warren Harvey Smith

Warren Harvey Smith, loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, passed away peacefully on December 13, 2024. He was 89 and was born on October 6, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. 

Warren was also loved by his friends, known for his generosity, kindness, intelligence, soft-spoken nature and analytical mind. His sense of humor and warm smile will be deeply missed. 

Warren grew up in Brooklyn, NY where he fondly recalled being a member of a “fearsome gang”, really a social club, known as the Top Hats. He lived in Brooklyn through college, balancing his time between studying chemistry at The City College of New York and charming tourists as a sight-seeing guide on a New York City tour bus. After earning his undergraduate degree, he moved to Syracuse, New York where he pursued his PhD, and met the love of his life, Ellen Freshman, on a blind double date. They were married six months later. Ellen and Warren spent 62 happy years together – first in Syracuse, then Dayton, Ohio, and eventually retiring to Hilton Head Island.

Warren devoted the better part of his career to work at the Mound Laboratory in Miamisburg, OH, a Department of Energy facility for nuclear weapons research during the Cold War. A dedicated scientist, Warren’s team developed heat sources that helped power NASA’s Apollo missions to the moon and deep space satellites like Voyager and Galileo. After retiring from the lab, Warren shared his wisdom as a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Dayton. 

Warren loved being a father. Almost always home for dinner, he made his family his priority. He coached soccer, volunteered at swim meets, and crafted the coolest, if not the fastest, pinewood derby cars. Though he hid the disappointment, his children did not inherit the math gene. He did his best to help them with their homework, believing the louder he explained, the easier it would be to understand. In his down time, Warren was an accomplished wood worker, building beautiful furniture, along with rocking horses and cradles for his grandchildren. 

Later in life, Warren and Ellen traveled all over the world. Some favorites spots included South Africa, Nova Scotia, Thailand and Turkey. They enjoyed their friends from Dayton OH, Port Royal and the Cypress in Hilton Head. All his life, Warren loved to bake, garden, play tennis and was a dedicated volunteer. He was also an excellent bridge player and frequently relied on for IT support by friends at the Cypress. 

Warren is survived by his three children, Judy Blahut, Amy Williams and David Smith, as well as their spouses, Greg Blahut, Gilbert Williams III, and Alison Betty. Warren adored his eight grandchildren Sydney Conner and her husband Doug, Audrey Cappelen and her husband Sebastian, Ellen Williams, Gilbert Williams IV and his wife Meghan, Andrew and Owen Smith, Julia and Rex Blahut. He loved, held, and played with all five of his great grandchildren, Gilbert Williams V (4), Warren Conner (3), Josephine Cappelen (3), Eugene Williams (2), and Annie Cappelen (1). Warren is also survived by his brother Stuart (Marlene) and his sister Barbara.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to the Art League of Hilton Head, 14 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928, 

https://artleaguehhi.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate

or Adler Arts Center, 1700 North Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, IL 60048, https://adlercenter.org/support.