Obituary of Sidney Rufus Smith, Jr.

Chapel Hill - Sidney Rufus Smith, Jr., aged 87, passed away on October 17, 2018.

Sidney was born on September 18th, 1931, in Greensboro, NC, to the late Page Johnston and Sidney Smith, Sr. He graduated from Greensboro High School (now Grimsley) in 1949. He attended Duke University, and in 1953 received a degree in business administration, after years of boredom in the subject.  He broke away during weekends, and thrived getting to know his eccentric Aunt Louise and her fun and witty clan in Greensboro. They wassailed a tree and sang the Mikado in it’s entirety during Christmas ceremony, and escaped to the mountains or the beach with his new extended family.

In 1954, he joined the Army, and served in the CIC as a Spy Catcher. He was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, where he learned the language and spoke it fluently with the locals. His curiosity and enthusiasm for travel also led him to mountain-climbing school in the Swiss Alps. In 1956, Sid moved to Chapel Hill, was tested in German comprehension at UNC, and was admitted to the PHD program in Germanic Languages.

He taught German at the University of Connecticut. There he met Vera Pautzsch, with whom he moved back to Chapel Hill to marry. They had two children, Stephanie Alice Smith and Eric Brian Smith. In 1973, Sid and Vera divorced, and Sidney got custody of their kids.  Sidney worked full time as a professor of Germanic languages while single-handedly raising them. He was Chairman of the German Department, and also taught Icelandic, Norwegian, and Linguistics. Sidney Smith's children and his students were precious to him. He organized rock climbing trips and singing parties for his language students. He also managed to hone a lifetime interest in Magic and performed Magic shows for the kids in Chapel Hill.

Before his retirement in 1997, Sidney Smith founded the German Haus at UNC, an immersive German speaking student residence. Afterward, he continued traveling to Europe, Iceland and Bulgaria. He joined the International Folkdance club, cultivating friendships from around the world. He was also an active member of the Community Church in Chapel Hill.

Survivors include his daughter, Stephanie Alice Smith and her partner Jamie Craven of Durham, and son, Eric Brian Smith, and Eric’s wife Mary Yang Smith and his stepgrandson, David Alexander Chang. In addition to his parents, Sidney R. Smith was preceded in death by his sister, Nancy Hooke.

A memorial service will be held at the Community Church of Chapel Hill, Saturday March 23, 2019.  For up-to-date service information and detailed obituary, please visit: Walkersfuneralservice.com and search the obituaries menu to find his dedicated page.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation that helps international students in their endeavors.

The Smith family is unde rthe care of Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill.