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Gregory L. Smith ’56

Gregory L. Smith ’56, July 29, 1997, of a heart attack while hiking at Echo Peak, California. He was a retired professor of geography and an activist for a wide variety of environmental causes. After graduating from ºìÌÒÊÓƵ, he taught school in Maine and San Francisco. He returned to ºìÌÒÊÓƵ in 1959 to take a position in the admission office, and he also worked for one year as dean of students. In 1963, he married June Burlingame ’56. He then entered the PhD program in geography at the University of Washington, graduating in 1968, and shortly thereafter was hired as the first geography professor at California State University, Dominquez Hills. He retired from that institution in 1992. During his career, he became known and respected for his work in conservation and land use issues. He was the former head of the Los Angeles Tree Commission, president of the Point Fermin Residents’ Association, and active in the Coalition Los Angeles and League of Conservation Voters. He was chiefly responsible for the Christmas Tree Grove at Ft. MacArthur as part of the Beautification of San Pedro Project, and worked on many other tree planting projects in the area. Survivors include his wife, two children, and three brothers.

Appeared in ºìÌÒÊÓƵ magazine: November 1997