E. Ward Smith of New York and Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY died on May 11, 2024, of a heart attack. Ward was born on November 11, 1937, in Camden, NJ. He was the only son of M. Cooper and Hildred B. Smith of Haddonfield, NJ.
Ward moved with his family to Omaha when he was nine years old and returned to the east coast to continue his education in 1953. He prepared at The Choate School of Wallingford, CT, graduating in 1956. Ward received his A.B. cum laude, concentrating in history, from Harvard College, where he was a member of Lowell House and the Harvard Class of 1960. He received his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 1962.
Ward married Carolyn Karre on June 20, 1964. After completing six months of basic training at Fort Dix, NJ, he began a forty-four-year career in commercial banking at First National City Bank (now Citibank), NY. In 1985, he was recruited by the Bank of New York to assist in the development of the bank's newly created private banking division.
While Ward enjoyed the challenges of 44 years in banking, he found his volunteer activities equally rewarding. Upon his retirement, he tutored immigrant high school students in a New York City public school. As a former president of debate societies both in school and college, speaking before large audiences came easily to him. He was sought by non-profit organizations as the pro-bono auctioneer for benefits. He was the auctioneer for the Oratorio Society of New York for nineteen consecutive years and auctioned for other non-profits for periods of four to twenty years. Ward and Carolyn's younger son, Scott, attended Bates College. They became active in the parents' association and led the organization's annual fundraising campaign. By enlisting the aid of parents located throughout the country, the parents' organization exceeded prior years' giving records for two consecutive years. They also planted the seed for the college to create the dynamic parent fundraising organization which exists today. Following their son's graduation, Ward joined the Bates College board of trustees. Over his sixteen-year tenure, he served on various committees and was vice-chair of the board of overseers and Secretary of the College.
In New York he was a member of Christ Church's board of trustees for over thirty years and was president for the final five years of his service. He was also a member of the board of trustees of Poets House. As a bibliophile and a lover of poetry, he was a long-standing member of the Grolier Club. He organized annual Poetry Evenings beginning in 1996 that continue to today. Together, Ward and Carolyn, a fellow-bibliophile and Grolier Club leader, traveled many times to English-speaking countries in search of books. He collected first editions of twentieth-century poets. He was also a member of The Century Association, the Harvard Club of New York and the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Hudson Valley. While book-collecting was his primary avocation, he also loved singing and creating humorous doggerel to celebrate special occasions of friends. He also enjoyed playing squash and tennis.
In addition to his wife, Carolyn, he is survived by two sons, J. Kent Smith (Lumi Tokuhiro), E. Scott Smith and four grandchildren (Bridget Smith, Ned Smith, Yuki Tokuhiro (Wanjian Tang) and Lanna Tokuhiro (Alec Russell). The burial in upstate New York was attended by family. A service to celebrate his life was held on May 22 at Christ Church United Methodist, 60th Street and Park Ave., in New York City.
Slightly modified from the version published by The New York Times on May 19, 2024.
