Smith, former head of WGTE, was a beekeeper
in his retirement years. (Family photo.)
Obituary
Robert Smith, Toledo leader, early WWR producer, 81
Robert D. Smith Jr., a longtime public broadcaster who was the founding producer of Washington Week in Review and managed the TV/radio stations in Toledo, Ohio, died Jan. 20 in Oberlin, Ohio, after battling cancer. He was 81.
His son, Stephen Smith, host and executive editor of American RadioWorks, told the Toledo Blade: "He really believed in the public purpose of public broadcasting, and so do I — the obligation to serve the audience with stuff that's meaningful and of high quality and can't be found elsewhere."
In 1967, as programming director at WETA, he produced the station's new public affairs show, Washington Week in Review, which continues on PBS today as Washington Week. He was hired in 1974 to run Toledo's WGTE-TV, and he helped put its FM sister station on the air in 1976.
Smith retired in 1988 due to the lingering effects of an auto accident, his son said.
"He was passionate about public television and public radio," Tom Paine, WGTE radio program manager, told the Toledo Blade. "He would say WGTE brings Toledo thoughtful programs that are cherished by viewers and listeners. The 'cherished' is a Bob word. He loved our public service mission, and it was something that energized him every single day."
Smith was born March 29, 1929, in Dayton. He was a 1951 graduate of the College of Wooster, where he founded the campus radio station. He served stateside in the Air Force during the Korean War, making instructional films. He had a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Beekeeping was his hobby, and he created videos for beekeepers.
Survivors include his wife Janet Evans Smith; daughters Janna Eversmeyer and Lisa Goss; son Stephen Smith; sister Robin Ellinor; and six grandchildren.
Memorial services were held Feb. 12 in Oberlin, Ohio. The family suggests tributes to WGTE Public Media or the Way Public Library, Perrysburg, Ohio.
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