Deceased September 4, 2012

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25th Reunion Book Entry

In Memory

Trevor Gaylord Mallory Smith was born on Aug. 3, 1935 and passed away on Sept. 4, 2012, after a long battle with ataxia, a neurological disorder.

In addition to being a classmate of mine, Trevor also was my brother-in-law for 25 years. I introduced Trevor to my sister Bonnie Jean in our sophomore year, and they married in January 1956. The fondest memories of our friendship at Amherst involve the many trips he and I made to the record store in the center of town, where we would spend countless hours listening to our jazz favorites (June Christy, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton and Dave Brubeck). I also remember the Sunday brunches at Chi Phi when Howie Baker’s jazz group entertained us.

After graduating from Amherst, Trevor embarked on a successful career in the insurance industry, including stints with Connecticut General and Banker’s Life. In 1970 Trev partnered with two others to form their own company (Plan Services), which was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet in 1979. Subsequent to 1979, Trevor was appointed as assistant state treasurer and assistant insurance commissioner for Florida. He was also an active volunteer at the local and national level for the Association for Retarded Children/Citizens. Other charitable passions included serving as board chairman of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and volunteering with the Jaycees, the Florida and International Special Olympics and Angels Unaware.

Trevor and Bonnie Jean had four children (Reve, Leslie, Ford and Mallory). Their marriage ended in divorce. He was remarried in 1981 to Nola Allen and treated Nola’s two children (Shelley and Jamie) as his own. My sister died in 2007 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Trevor, gentleman that he was, assisted Bonnie Jean in so many ways during her illness. The best way I can describe Trevor is he was a giver, not a taker. He is and will be missed.

Dick Leavitt ’57

25th Reunion

Dear Torn:

As one of the class laggards, let me give you some of the thoughts that I have quickly jotted down for your editing.

I continue to be amazed that my peers and business associates credit me highly with aptitudes I probably don't possess, based solely on my history of successfully completely an Amherst education. It makes more poignant my occasional reflections on some time wasted and opportunities lost, but perhaps that has directed me to avoid the same shortcomings in my more adult life. I have had incredible opportunities to learn, to work and to perform and to contribute; while my general education and life style training at Amherst helped, if I truly assessed these, I have probably overdone in each.

My children are delights as individuals and cohesive as sibling - did I contribute enough to that? Two are handicapped but may just be using what capacities they do possess better than all the rest of us. Two others are brilliant but will never access an Amherst experience; evidently, the heritage of Dad's attendance seems enough. A second family, recently joined, gives me two more magnificent opportunities - another daughter to see through college and into adulthood and another son to take from Little League brilliance to full blown grown-up skills.

For quite some time, it concerned me that my Amherst experience never "taught" the importance, the joy, the substance of Family - then I realized Amherst was only supposed to expose to the skill sets that would allow me to fulfill my many different roles as they emerged.

As the memories mellow, so do the abilities to cope well.

Best,

Trevor