Barry "Herc" Smith

Barry “Herc” Nelson Smith was born to Nelson and Patsy Smith in San Francisco on April 18, 1932. He grew up in Palo Alto and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford University in 1954. He belonged to the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. Shortly following graduation, Herc married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Sloan. The newlyweds settled in Southern California and Herc began his career with North American Aviation. In 1956, Herc and Barbara’s first daughter, Carrie, was born, and Diana joined the family in 1959. They moved to the Palos Verdes peninsula in 1964, and Herc continued his aerospace career with TRW, where he would work for over 40 years. Projects included the Saturn V rocket which took the Apollo missions to the moon, the Skylab space station, design of a test scale model of the Space Shuttle, and various communications satellites. Herc and Barbara enjoyed traveling the world, attending theater, playing bridge, and spending time with their many friends. During his last several years, Herc volunteered at the Western Museum of Flight at Torrance Airport where he archived numerous documents and lead tours for young students on field trips.

On August 15, 2017, Herc passed away peacefully in his sleep at home. His kind, generous, friendly and easy going manner will be missed by many. He is survived by his daughters Carrie Harden (Larry) and Diana Nowell (Robert), his sister Rho Bailey, and numerous cousins. He has been laid to rest at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Donations can be made to "Western Museum of Flight" in Torrance in his memory at: http://wmof.com/donate.htm