It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Arnold Smith. Arnie graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor in Physical Education and a Master of Education in 1982. While at UBC Arnie played Thunderbird football under coach Frank Gnup.
Upon graduation, he embarked on a teaching and coaching career in West Vancouver. In June 1977 there was an urgent need for appropriate schooling for young children of Canadian parents working in Iran. Arnie was selected to be the principal of a school in northeast Iran, where he set out to find teachers, materials, and a suitable building for children in grades K to 12. Under difficult circumstances, Smith was successful in pulling this challenge together. However, in the fall of 1978 anti-Shah riots and strikes ravaged the country, and all Canadians were evacuated from Iran with only one bag per person. In an interview with Arnie in 2017, Arnie recalled this period of his career “an experience of a lifetime. It was …such an adventure I would never pass up . . . we had a cultural immersion and learning experience.”
With his Masters of Education, Arnie continued to teach, coach and serve as principal at West Vancouver Secondary School until his retirement. Later, while living in the Okanagan, Arnie hosted events for UBC Okanagan before he and his wife Kathryn relocated to Oshawa, Ontario to be near their daughter Karen and her growing family. Arnie is survived by his loving wife Kathryn, children Steven, Karen and Grant, son in law Brian, and grandchildren Sean, Lee and Robyn.
To read more about Arnie Smith’s life, please see:
https://kin.educ.ubc.ca/arnie-smith/
https://vancouversunandprovince.remembering.ca/obituary/arnold-smith-1082480074