Walter Deal Smith - Obituary

alter Deal Smith, 87, of Fort Washington, MD died peacefully on Thursday, August 2, 2018. He was born in Fairmont Heights, MD on December 29, 1930 to Wallace E. Smith and Clara M. Jones Smith. He was predeceased by his loving wife of thirty-one years, Marva, earlier this year. He was the youngest and last remaining sibling, known as “Deal” to his large Smith family. Walter spoke lovingly of his older sister who was a nurturing mother figure and played an important role in his upbringing after his mother died when he was 5 years old. Walter’s father, Wallace Smith, was a devout Baptist Elder who instilled in him a strong faith in God and the importance of education and hard work. Walter graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Washington, D.C. Class of 1949 – known as the classical academic high school for black students in the segregated public schools. Walter graduated from Howard University where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree majoring in Chemistry in early 1950s. He was the first member of the Smith family to attend college. He valued education as means to overcome the prejudice of the day. In his early 20’s, Walter entered the United States (U.S.) Army shortly after Executive Order 9981 that ordered the integration of the armed forces. He was stationed at Fort Benning, GA. This was a time when he and his family could sit anywhere on a bus while on Post but had to move to the back of the bus once it left the base. Walter’s highest rank achieved in the military was 1st Lieutenant. He was a Commissioned U.S. Army Officer in the U.S. Reserve Corps. He received special recognitions for his distinguished accomplishments while serving in the Army. He married his first wife, Mary E. Jeter on December 12, 1952 and they had four surviving children: Ernest R. Smith (Deceased), Keith O. Smith (Patricia), Ingrid M. Geraldo (Manuel), and Paris “Peter” Smith. He was a tough father in a time when it was important to teach his children that they must excel if they were to succeed in a society that would not always treat them kindly. He mellowed in his later years. He and his father Wallace built his original home on Church Road, in Bowie, MD where he lived “off the grid” before it was fashionable. While living on Church Road he built his second home with modern amenities with assistance from his children. He separated and divorced his first wife, Mary in the 1980’s. He married his second wife Marva Waddy Dean on December 29, 1986. They lived in West Tantallon Drive, Fort Washington, MD where he raised his three step-daughters: Karen Dean, Kathy Dean-Wiggins (Garry) and Kara Spears (Kato). He converted to Roman Catholicism later in life at St. Columba Catholic Church, Oxon Hill, MD and was inducted into the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal Catholic charitable organization. Walter along with his wife, Marva were faithful parishioners of St. Columba Catholic Church from the 1980’s until the time of their passing. In the 1990’s, Walter retired from U.S. Government service after working as a highly esteemed Research Chemist for three decades at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). He received many awards and special recognitions for his research and his writings. Walter was a brilliant man who delighted in solving complex mathematical equations. Through his work at NRL, he traveled the world. During his travels, Walter enjoyed meeting people of diverse backgrounds. He had many passions including: gardening, photography, golfing, fishing, cycling, spending time with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His favorite was pontificating on world events and the importance of education. Walter (aka Uncle Deal, Smitty, Dad, Pops and GrandDad) leaves behind a blessed legacy of his many grandchildren: Tiger, Bart, Cameron, Titiana, Cierra, Kirk, Kierra, Kalena, Kristian, Kayla, Neil, Ben, Julia, Kendel, Manuel II and Alex and his great-grandchildren: Aiya, Grey, Aizen, Grace, Caleb, Hannah, Ethan, Lenore, and Austin-Clyde. While Walter is the last of his siblings, he leaves behind many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Walter will always be lovingly remembered as a devoted family man. His family and friends will miss his great sense of humor, vast vocabulary, strong passions, wonderful style and meaningful discussions about life. We are deeply saddened by his passing and rejoice in knowing that he was a man of strong faith and is with God and with his loved ones who have passed before him. Visitation will be at St. Columba Catholic Church, 7800 Livingston Road, Oxen Hill, MD 20745, Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., followed by a Roman Catholic service at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be at 12: 30 p.m. at 8000 Woodyard Road, Resurrection Cemetery, Clinton, MD. Donations can be made in Walter D. Smith’s name in lieu of flowers to the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and/or American Diabetes Association.