Northern Nevada planning icon dead at 84

Raymond M. Smith, a city and regional planner who was active in shaping Carson Valley and Northern Nevada over the last 50 years, died last week at his home in Minden. He was 84.

In his 55-year career, Smith was involved in regional planning in 10 Nevada counties, was the first executive director of the Lake Tahoe Area Council, a private, regional planning organization, was engaged in the planning of Incline Village and later named the North Lake Tahoe community.

"He was a truly visionary and talented man," said Bob Hadfield, who served as Douglas County Manager from 1977-85 and worked closely with Smith. "He had that free-flowing mind. He could take a blank piece of paper and create a different perspective, a different way of looking at a project."

Hadfield said Smith's vision was very influential among developers and government planners.

"The community has lost a true, old-time planner, a person who really involved himself in the community," Hadfield said. "He was not uncontroversial. He was a strong advocate of looking at things another way. That's always uncomfortable for a community."

Douglas County Commissioner David Brady said that in the last couple of years he spent many hours with Smith trying to gain a historical perspective on planning in the region. Brady said Smith never stopped working.

"Even in retirement he was trying to draw plans to improve a design or a plan," Brady said.

According to Smith's sons, planning was more than just Raymond Smith's profession -- it was his hobby, his passion.

"He would see a vacant piece of property and draw up a plan," said Scott Smith, Raymond Smith's youngest son.

Cole Smith, a Carson Valley real estate broker and developer who collaborated with his father on a few projects, said his father would often analyze entire county budgets in his spare time. "He knew exactly where those funds were going," he said. "He was outspoken. He would go to those commission meetings and hold them accountable."

Smith's sons said he loved the state of Nevada, the subject of his 13 published books.

"He had a great love for the state of Nevada, particularly for the northern part of Nevada," said Willem Smith, Raymond Smith's oldest son.

Raymond Smith often took his sons along on his trips through rural Nevada. "I think I've driven on every backroad in this state," said Willem Smith.

While helping his father research a book, "Saloons of Old and New Nevada," Scott Smith crisscrossed the state gathering stories with his father. He remembers meeting a woman from Cape Cod after stumbled upon the small community of Goldfield and just decided to stay. "That's the kind of thing he could dig out, he'd find those things," Scott Smith said.

Raymond Smith also loved to paint and draw ghost towns, desert scenes and abandoned buildings that he would discover during his travels in Nevada.

"There was so much he taught me, so much about how to live life," said Scott Smith. "He took good care of us, he taught us a lot about how to survive in the world."

Raymond Smith was born in San Francisco, Calif. on May 19, 1923. He graduated from Stanford University in 1947, and attended the Harvard School of Design for his Masters degree in city planning.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Margaret May Smith; his four sons, Willem, Cole, Gage and Scott; four grandchildren and several great grandchildren. He died on July 6, 2007.

A gathering to celebrate Raymond Smith's life will be held tomorrow from 3 to 7 p.m. at 1647 Mackland Avenue, Minden.