Walter Price Smith, 87, retired former vice president of Mars Hill College (University), died Tuesday, October 17, 2017, at Madison Health and Rehabilitation in Mars Hill, NC.
A 1949 junior college graduate of the Baptist school, he joined the administrative staff in August 1954 and spent 42 years as writer, editor and photographer in the Office of Public Information. For more than 30 years he edited the college catalog and the alumni magazine and taught journalism in the English Department as associate professor before retiring in June 1996.
Mr. Smith grew up in Pensacola, FL, where he attended public schools and was graduated from Pensacola High School in 1947. Following his studies at Mars Hill, he transferred to Baylor University in Waco, TX, where he majored in journalism and English. During the summer between his junior and senior years he did an internship under the auspices of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association. He was a reporter on the afternoon daily at Wichita Falls, TX. During his senior year at Baylor he edited the school’s daily student newspaper; was president of Sigma Delta Chi, professional journalism fraternity; and was named to the national publication “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.”
A month after graduation he joined the Air Force and was sent to Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX, for basic training. After brief assignments as a reporter on base newspapers at Lackland and at McConnell AFB in Wichita, KS, he was admitted to Officer Candidate School at Lackland. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to communications intelligence schools in Denver, CO, and at Brooks AFB in San Antonio. Although the Korean War was winding down at the time (1953), Lt. Smith was deployed to an Air Force intelligence gathering unit in Japan as a cryptographer and intelligence analyst. When the armistice was signed ending the war, he returned to the U.S. and was released from active duty.
He immediately joined the staff of the morning daily newspaper in his hometown, Pensacola, as a general assignments reporter. The following year he joined the staff of Mars Hill College (University) as a public information specialist, writing news and feature stories for release to area newspapers and magazines and doing related photography. In December he was married in San Antonio to Pat Janicke, whom he had met during his third Air Force assignment in the Alamo City.
During the 1956-57 school year he took a leave of absence from his duties at Mars Hill and earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. When he returned to his duties at Mars Hill he assumed added responsibilities for college publications. Mrs. Smith worked at the college before their three children were born, then was a stay-at-home mother for 10 years before returning to work at the college when their youngest child entered first grade.
Over the years Mr. Smith was active in Mars Hill Baptist Church, serving several terms as chairman of the board of deacons and on various committees. For 8 years he was chairman of the board of elections for the town of Mars Hill. In 1991 the college trustees named him Vice President for Publications; and in 1994, on his 40th anniversary at the school, he was presented a Distinguished Service Award. By the time they retired in 1996 the Smiths had served 71 years at the college; he for 42 and she for 29. Even after retiring the Smiths remained active in the community and with Mars Hill College (University) serving as founding members and officers of the Retired Personnel Organization. In 2006, as part of the sesquicentennial celebration, Walter, Robert Chapman and Darryl Norton published a photographic reminiscence of Mars Hill College (1856-2006) entitled Through the Long Years.
Mr. Smith’s immediate family survivors include his devoted wife of 63 years, Pat; a son, Travis and his fiancée, Jenny Bowyer and his three children, Austin and Alexis of Asheville, NC, and Alyssa, of Hickory, NC; a daughter and son-in-law, Kellye and Michael Ratcliff of Greenville, SC; and a daughter, Karen Marie Smith, MD, of Winston-Salem, NC. The extended family includes a step granddaughter, Treva (Lacy) Cross, and their children Kaley and Mitchell; a step grandson, Jason Ratcliff and his sons Justin and Carter; and step grandson, Joshua Ratcliff (Sarah) and sons, William and Thomas. Other survivors include aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, and in-laws in Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and California.
The family will receive friends Sunday, October 22 from 2 pm – 4 pm at Blue Ridge Funeral Service (7626 Highway 213) in Mars Hill. Interment will be in Mars Hill Baptist Church cemetery (private service).
A service celebrating Walter’s life will be held on Saturday, October 28 at 11 am at Mars Hill Baptist Church (67 North Main Street). The family will receive friends at a reception immediately follow the service in the church fellowship hall. The Reverend Tommy Justus will officiate.
The family would like to thank Dr. James Hoer and Camilla Olson of Carolina Internal Medicine and the staff of Madison Health and Rehabilitation for the loving care of their husband and father.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Pat J. and Walter P. Smith Scholarship Fund at Mars Hill University, Advancement Office, PO Box 6792, Mars Hill, NC 28754 (www.mhu.edu) or to Mars Hill Baptist Church, PO Box 218, Mars Hill, NC 28754 (www.marshillbc.org).
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blueridgefuneralservice.org

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