West Hempstead's Beloved Bob Smith Dies

Robert Smith, a veteran and active member of the West Hempstead community, passed away late Sunday night at the age of 87.

Smith collapsed earlier that evening during a scholarship dinner at Pompei restaurant not long after he presented one of the awards to a deserving local student.

Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support and Civic Association, recalled hearing a commotion toward the end of table and turning to see her good friend, Bob, as most called him, in distress.

As everyone in the room rushed to his aid, Smith, conveying his signature sense of humor, had tried to make light of the situation by joking at first, but his condition quickly became very serious. He was rushed to Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, where he died overnight.

"His family can take comfort in knowing that he was surrounded by so many people who loved him [that night]," said Norton.

Smith made an indelible impact on West Hempstead during his life, serving on the board of the Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce and several other community organizations. He was even active on Facebook, where most recently he had tried to drum up support for the Neighborhood Watch group launched by fellow resident Terese Russo-Santoro.

Russo-Santoro expressed her condolences to Smith's family on the social networking site upon learning of his death.

"We only knew Bob a few short years, but felt like we knew him longer," she wrote. "He helped our family in many different ways, and we are forever grateful. He was loyal to his country, his hometown and the people who lived and raised their families in it. We truly lost one of the great ones today."

Other residents whose lives had been touched by Smith filled his Facebook wall with heartfelt words.

"There are not enough tears to shed for a more deserving human," wrote Nikki Stamatas Thaw. "So deserving is he, that he would not want us to cry, but to expend our energy in a more positive way in the service of others. Maybe tomorrow. Today, we cry that our community has lost the finest human I have ever met."

The only thing greater than his love for the West Hempstead community was that which he held for his wife, who passed away over a year ago, and family.

"He took that very hard," said Norton, adding that the couple had been married over 55 years.

Today they are survived by their three children.

Funeral services have not yet been set, but Patch will share this information when it becomes available.