Edwin H. Smith, Sr. Papers

Edwin Houston Smith, Sr. was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 9, 1921 to Wilbur Wallace Smith and Agnes Buchanan Smith. He later moved to Paris, Tennessee and then Atlanta with his family, and graduated from Boys High School (now Henry W. Grady High School) in 1940.

Smith enrolled at the Georgia School (now Institute) of Technology as a co-op student in Electrical Engineering. While at Georgia Tech, Smith was a member of the Eta Kappa Nu Electrical Engineering honor society. Soon, though, the United States entered World War II. Smith withdrew from school and joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he became a First Lieutenant. While in the Army, Smith met Audrey Moore, and married her in 1945.

After his stint in the Army, Smith returned to Atlanta to continue his studies at Georgia Tech. He earned his degree in Electrical Engineering in 1947 and later went to work for Robert and Company, an Atlanta-based engineering and architecture firm specializing in aviation and city planning. Smith worked at three different engineering firms in Atlanta before retiring from the Eckhardt Electric Company in 1986.

Smith and his wife Audrey had two children, Edwin Houston Smith, Jr., who graduated from Tech with a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1971, and Sheryl Smith Lamar. Smith also had four grandchildren, including Ashley Warlick, who is also a Yellow Jacket, graduating with a degree in History, Technology, and Society in 2005.

Smith was also an active member of the Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta.

Edwin Houston Smith, Sr. died on August 8, 2011, at the age of 90. His memorial service was held at Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church and he was buried in Westview Cemetery on August 11, 2011.