May 27, 2020, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Major: Geology
Williams service
- The Ephraim Williams Society
- Regional Special Gifts Committee
- Development Representative
Williams relatives
- Mr. Christopher E. Smythe ’82 P’10 (Child)
- Ms. Alison L. Smythe ’83 (Child)
- Mr. Douglas H. Smythe ’10 (Grandchild)
- Mr. Mark E. Raisbeck ’88 (Nephew)
- Mr. E. Peter Raisbeck ’61 P’88 (Inlaw)
- Mrs. Linda Smythe H’51 (Inlaw)
- Mr. C. L. Smythe Jr. (dec’d) ’51 GP’14 (Sibling)
Obituary & related links
Date reported: June 8, 2020
Sorry for your loss Chris. I love your Dad’s entry in his 50th Reunion Book. GRATITUDE is a most wonderful quality to have in life. All the best, Kate (Downey) Berges
On May 27, Jeff Smythe died at his home in a retirement community in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Fortunately, Jeff was able to be with friends and family a few days earlier on Memorial Day. He is survived by three children (Christopher, Alison and Dana), three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A Celebration of Life will be scheduled in September.
At Williams, Jeff was on the track and football teams. Immediately after graduation, he enlisted in the Air Force and three years later he emerged as a Captain. With his wife Becky at his side, Jeff went into the real estate business in Cleveland and it was not long before he and his brother Pete started Cragin, Lang, Free and Smythe, a commercial real estate brokerage firm. He became the managing partner for the firm’s property management business as the firm eventually grew to become the second largest commercial real estate firm in Cleveland.
Jeff and Becky loved to travel together and to spend time at their condominium in Sun Valley, Idaho. After her death in 2010, Jeff retained the condo and it was from there that Jeff was a part of the Sun Valley mini-reunion a few years ago.
It seems appropriate to quote a paragraph from Jeff’s entry in the Class’s 50th Reunion Book of 2006. “Those of you that I know from the class of 1956 are all blessed with above average judgment, are smart as hell, and just happen to be great guys. Why? Maybe it was the war, maybe it was a wonderful set of values gleaned from our upbringing, maybe it was Whit, or Kermit, or Len Watters, or even Tony Plansky. Who knows, maybe it was the water. Whatever it was, we should be truly grateful.”