W. Thomas “Tom” Smith, 89, died October 16, 2023, at his home in Oaxaca, Mexico. Born on April 4, 1934, in Gloster, Mississippi, he grew up in South Carolina and graduated from Fairforest High School in 1952. After studying music for three years at Stetson University, DeLand, Florida, he completed his undergraduate studies at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960. Between those years of study, he spent two and a half years in the United States Army, serving as the chaplain’s assistant in Verdun, France, and Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Following several years as organist and choir director at Atonement Lutheran Church, Syracuse, New York, and St. John’s Lutheran Church in Summit, New Jersey, he completed his Master of Sacred Music degree at Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio, in 1977.
While he was a graduate student at Wittenberg, his work as an instructor of organ and hymnology caught the attention of the president of the Hymn Society of America (now the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada), L. David Miller, who also was dean of the music school at Wittenberg. In 1976 Smith was hired as the part-time executive director of the society, the first to hold this position, while he was finishing his master’s degree. One of his first accomplishments was the reorganization of the contents of the Hymn Society office when the headquarters was moved from New York City to Springfield, Ohio. He managed moving the office contents when the Hymn Society headquarters moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1983, where he then taught hymnology at Texas Christian University from 1984 to 1996.
Smith’s tenure as full-time executive director of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada was from 1978 until his retirement in 1996. Under leadership, the Hymn Society experienced tremendous growth and many positive changes as he brought new ideas to the structure of the organization. He traveled extensively as an ambassador for the Hymn Society, providing leadership for a variety of events and programs, particularly for chapters of the American Guild of Organists and the Royal Canadian College of Organists. The annual summer conferences became a highlight for members as they gathered in various places across the United States and Canada for expanded and innovative programming that he initiated. In 1996 Smith was named a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.
Smith’s retirement began in December 1996 when he relocated to Oaxaca, Mexico. He maintained an active musical life, hosting concerts in his home with performances on a four-and-a-half-stop Oberlinger organ that he purchased in 2001. He was known and loved in Oaxaca by many friends, neighbors, and students to whom he taught English for many years. His generosity led him to provide living space in his house for students of limited financial means.
Upon his death Smith was cremated, and his ashes remain in Oaxaca. A private celebration of his life was held in his home on October 29.
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