DELAND, Fla. – Richard C. Smith, 96, passed away on Sept. 11, 2025, after a brief unexpected illness.

He was born in Gardiner, on April 27, 1929, the son of Cecil A. and Marguerite W. Smith.

Richard was a 1947 graduate of Gardiner High School, a 1951 graduate of Gorham State Teachers College and a 1963 graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder. He rounded out his education by taking additional courses at Colby College, Colgate University, Cornell University, Tufts University, and the University of New York in Albany.

He was enthusiastic about teaching and started his career in the Gardiner School District where he taught for two years. From there he went to Cape Elizabeth for 11 years before joining the faculty of Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge, N.Y. Richard completed 26 more years of teaching there before retiring in 1991 as Professor of Earth Sciences and Astronomy. Richard was preceded in death by his wife Kathleen (Fox) Smith. He is survived by his sister Barbara Robinson of Gardiner; his daughter Deborah Vizvary of Kingston, N.Y.; stepdaughters Nancy Fox, Betsy York and her husband David, and stepson Larry Fox and his wife Lisa, all of Bethel. Also surviving are his cousin Freeman Littlefield and his wife Judy of Litchfield. as well as two nieces, a nephew, and grand and great stepchildren.

Richard and his wife Kathleen were members of the Alliance Chapel of Deland, Florida.

A committal service will be held in Riverside Cemetery, Augusta, at a later date.