LeRoy and Reatha Smith Papers

LeRoy and Reatha Smith were Pacific University graduates who were active in the field of education in Oregon and California. Reatha Loita Parcell Smith (1903-1976), daughter of a Carnation Milk field manager in Forest Grove, Oregon, graduated from Pacific University in that city (1926) and taught school at nearby Wilhelmina High School. Her husband, Leroy D. Smith (1907-after 1978), son of a Berkeley (Calif.) attorney and cattle rancher, graduated from Pacific University (1928) and later taught high school in Forest Grove, Oregon (c1930-43), where he eventually rose to the rank of Vice Principal. After 1943, the Smiths lived in Berkeley, California. Mr. Smith was a counselor at Alameda High School until his retirement (c1972). The Smiths were both very active in their communities. They were involved with Greek life at Pacific University and many other clubs and organizations. In his spare time, Mr. Smith made bows and arrows, taught archery, and worked with the Boy Scouts. The Smiths were also active members of the Berkeley First Congregational Church. Retha and Leroy Smith had two sons. The eldest, Roger, became a Congregationalist minister in northern California. Myron, the Smith's second son, taught high school chemistry in Washington state.

The information above was adapted from biographical notes compiled by the University of the Pacific Special Collections. The text appears in their finding aid for the Smith Collection of Pacific Coast Newspaper Transcripts, 1856-1890, which is held in the Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections.