Bob Smith used to laugh about how his elders "always told us that life will go fast, and they weren't kidding." For Smith, it was a fast but fun-filled and fulfilling 81 years; the programmer analyst who retired to Ormond Beach, Fla. two decades ago died March 5 in Daytona Beach.

Bob considered himself a "regular guy," and while that might have been a point of pride, it doesn't mean he had the regular journey to get there.
Born in Pennsylvania, Bob was six years old when he and his brothers Walter and Donald were sent to live at the Immaculate Conception Orphanage in Lodi, N.J. The boys weren't orphans, but the family was facing tough circumstances, and the orphanage was a common solution for families in those days.

The eight years spent there shaped Bob for the rest of his life, and contributed to his sense that having and raising a family was his greatest achievement. There were, however, other accomplishments along the way.  Upon graduation from Lancaster Catholic High School, Bob joined the Air Force, and was sent to England where, in the summer of 1959, the Airman First Class and some of his Air Force buddies crashed a wedding reception at the Marlboro Hotel in the small seaside town of Felixstowe. He danced the night away with Julianne Gibbs, goddaughter of the establishment's owner, and just over two years later the couple was hosting their own wedding in England.

Out of the Air Force and back in the States, Bob's life moved fast, just as the elders said it would. There were kids, the start of a long-time job with Varityper Corp., a return to school for an accounting degree from Rutgers University in 1972 and a progression of homes until the family settled in Livingston, N.J. in 1973.

While Bob and Juli stayed in Livingston for 27 years before moving to Florida, they spent plenty of time away from the Garden State. Whether it was the mountains of North Carolina, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, returning to England to visit relatives in Cornwall or spending time in the state parks of Eastern Pennsylvania, Bob was always active, interested and excited for whatever came next.

Robert Lee Smith was born Dec. 10, 1940 in Sunbury, Pa., to Walter Franklin Smith and Catharine DeWitt Smith. He is survived by Juli – his wife of 60 years – his children Karen K. Smith Duffy and Gary L. Smith (Kailyn), all of Ormond Beach, and by his grandson Ryan (Megan) Duffy of Martinsburg, W. Va. He was predeceased by his brothers, Walter F. Smith Jr. and Donald R. Smith, but is lovingly remembered by nieces Theresa Smith of Linden, N.J. and Susan Tolentino of Weston, Fla., and by Barry Hohman of Barcelona, Spain, his high school classmate turned breeze-shooting chum.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations that support the people of Ukraine; a family favorite is World Central Kitchen (wck.org).
A memorial service and interment will be at St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nescopeck, Pa. in June.