We are sad to report that Richard “Dick” Williams Smith, Ph.D., a 36-year Ohio Wesleyan professor of history, passed away on July 1, 2025. He was 101. Complete obituary information is available online, and in it, his family shares:
Dr. Smith taught at Ohio Wesleyan from 1950-86 with a focus on the American frontier, the antebellum South, and the Civil War. An inspiring, popular, yet demanding, instructor, he was awarded the President Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award in 1975. … (A member of) Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honorary society … Dr. Smith became the charter member establishing the Epsilon Zeta Chapter at OWU on May 23, 1954. He served as faculty advisor from that time. …
Three former students, Evan Bukey, Evan Corns, and Lloyd Ferguson, initiated funding of The Richard W. Smith Civil War Lecture at OWU in 2002 in their professor’s honor. The Lecture’s brought top-flight historians to Delaware each year. This year’s Lecture will be held on Sept 29 on campus. A celebration of Dr. Smith’s life will be held on Sunday, Sept 28, also on campus.
Dick’s survivors include his wife Betty (Jackson) Smith ’52 and their three children, Kathryn Smith Ripper, David J. Smith, and Becky L. Lantz (Ken). His OWU legacy also includes his niece Rachel (Smith) Alternative ’88, grandchildren Rachel Lantz ’22, Jennifer Ripper ’14 and her husband, Alexander Lothstein ’15, as well as Dick’s predeceased brother, David H. Smith ’53. and mother Mary J. (Williams) Smith ’17.
The family requests gifts in Dick’s memory be made to the Richard W. Smith Endowment (GL#66432), which supports journal acquisition in the field of history and other areas. (The Smith Civil War Lecture Fund is fully funded.)
Please join us in sending our deepest sympathies to Betty and all of Dick’s family members and friends.
Source: Offices of Human Resources and the Provost