Ken E. Smith

Kenneth Eugene Smith of Fairway Estates, Frederick County, Virginia, passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, November 8, 2012. His wife of more than sixty years, Carolyn, was at his side.

He was born on July 23, 1925 in Tarrytown, New York, as the youngest of four sons and two daughters of the late Henry and Marie Smith. He was the last surviving brother.

In 1943, at the age of 17, he joined the United States Marine Corps and by the end of his tour in 1946 he had become a Pacific Fleet Boxing Champion. Upon his return to New York in 1946, he and a buddy bought a surplus Army Jeep and trailer and drove for twenty-two days until they reached Fairbanks, Alaska. He lived there in a cabin several miles outside of town and one night walked home from Fairbanks and the temperature was sixty-four degrees below zero. This was the coldest recorded temperature in North America at that time.

He returned to New York in 1948, where he played semi-pro football for the Union City Rams, a farm team of the New York Giants. In 1950 he graduated from the National Academy of Broadcasting in Washington D.C. One of his classmates there was Charlie Brotman, who later became the Sports Information Director for the Washington Redskins.

On May 25, 1952 he married Carolyn Jane Anderson of Tarrytown, New York, in The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, New York. They moved to Winchester, Virginia, and in 1953 he was hired by the late, former Mayor William Battaile for his Chevrolet dealership. During this time he was instrumental in the development of Pony League Baseball in Winchester and worked with Jim Barnett on numerous projects in the city park.

In 1954 he began a career with State Farm Insurance that lasted over forty years. By the time he retired in 1995, he had become the largest State Farm Agency in the state of Virginia.

A gifted Athlete, he was successful at any sport he tried and played on and coached many successful teams over the years. Although he didn’t start playing golf until his mid thirties, he had three holes in one at the Winchester Country Club, in three different decades. He was also extremely proud of his fifty-nine year membership in the Winchester Elks Lodge.

Ken is survived by his wife, Carolyn of Fairway Estates, Frederick County, Virginia and his son, Kim also of Frederick County.

All services with Omps Funeral Home, Amherst Chapel, will be private.

Please view obituaries and tribute wall at www.ompsfuneralhome.com.