David Thomas Smith was born May 27, 1930 at Beaver Falls, PA. His parents were J. Edward Smith and Ella Mae Brace. He graduated from Edison High School, Elmira Heights, NY in 1948 and from Cornell University in 1952.
He married Phyllis Louise Livermore, a high school classmate. They have six children: Leah Robinson, D. Thomas Smith (Rick Barrow), Marsha Bernice Smith (Piers Bramham), Daniel Lewis Smith (Katherine Hendricks), Kenneth Brace Smith (Elizabeth) and Kathryn Marie Smith. They also have 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
David taught vocational agriculture at Poland, NY and farmed on the Ridge Road in Chemung County. In 1955 he and Phyllis moved to Munnsville where he was a Cooperative Extension Agent with Russ Cary. In 1956 they moved to Cooperstown and worked with Dale Brown and lived on Chestnut Street. In 1970 he was named the first county director of extension in Monroe County and lived at Fairport, overlooking the Barge Canal.
His brother, James, shared his interest in agriculture and retired from Central Hudson Gas and Electric and lives at Newburgh. His sister, Rebecca, taught Braille and died in 1992.
David became agricultural program leader at Cornell in 1970 and was named Associate Director of Extension in 1974. They lived at Dryden. He retired in 1986.
In 1956 several extension agents bought a camp on The Narrows on Inlet Flow at Wanakena and named it Sodbusters Lodge. They spent vacations and weekends there until the camp was sold in 1992.
Phyllis and David banded blue birds and tree swallows for many years. David was President of the NYS Bluebird Society and chaired the committee that organized the North American Bluebird Society National Conference held at Cornell in 2004.
Phyllis and David were members of the First Presbyterian Church in Cooperstown and now the First Presbyterian Church of Dryden.
In 2013 they moved from their home in Dryden to a patio cottage at Longview, a retirement community near Ithaca College.
Grave side service will be held at Willow Glen at 10 am on Thursday, July 16.
Contributions in David’s memory may be made to Dryden Presbyterian Church.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of David T Smith, please visit our flower store.