Blair Patterson Smith

Blair Patterson Smith, also known as Pat to his birth family and Pappy to his grandchildren and great grandchildren, passed from life to life on October 25, 2023. Blair was born on January 13, 1945, to Blair Hanna Smith and Emma Grace Patterson Smith, while the family was stationed in Connecticut during World War II. Blair grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and attended Northwestern High School and the University of Baltimore. He served as a combat infantry sergeant in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. Shortly after his honorable discharge from the Army, Blair married Martha Julia Fortin Ryan. Martha, who predeceased Blair, was the love of his life, and her two daughters, Debra and Diane, and their children and grandchildren were his pride and joy. While living in White Plains, Maryland, Blair and Martha particularly enjoyed their weekend home overlooking Monroe Bay in Colonial Beach, Virginia. Blair had a highly successful career in sales and sales management, most notably with Orkin Pest Control as a regional sales manager covering the Baltimore-Washington area. After retirement, he became the owner and manager of a small apartment building in College Park, Maryland. In this building he created a home for his mother in the last years of her life. It was during this time that he answered his call to Roman Catholicism. He then attended St. Mark the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he served as a Eucharistic Minister. In recent years, Blair lived in the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C., where he founded their AA chapter. Blair was predeceased by his beloved wife Martha Julia Smith, his grandson, Charles Anderson, and his parents Blair Hanna Smith and Emma Grace Smith. He is survived by his daughters Debra A. Pugh (husband John P. Pugh, Sr.), and Diane Anderson (husband Charles Anderson, deceased), grandchildren, Dana M. Kemp (husband Joseph Kemp), John P. Pugh, Jr. (wife Melanie Pugh), Anthony Anderson, Justin Anderson, and Marie Julia Foster, great grandchildren, Jayce R. Kemp, Stella M. Kemp, Thomas (Tommy) Anderson, Myles P. Pugh, and Mason R. Pugh, and his sisters Sandra Carline Ahalt (husband, Monty Ahalt), and Teri Christine Smith-Jones (wife Kathleen Smith-Jones), and generations of nieces, nephews, and cousins. He will be sorely missed.