Fr. Walter Smith, Class of 2004, reposed in the Lord on the evening of May14, 2016 at the rectory of Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church, Waterbury CT.
A native of the state of Montana, Fr. Walter's first career was as a professor of art history and art gallery curator/director. He has taught and directed art galleries in Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Mississippi. A convert, he was received into the Orthodoxy at Holy Trinity Church of Kansas City, Kan., in 1996. In 2001, he took up full-time study at Saint Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pa. Smith was ordained a priest in 2003, and graduated from the Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree in May 2004.
Since his ordination, Fr. Walter served in several parishes: Holy Trinity Church, McAdoo Pennsylvania, Holy Trinity Church, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church back in Missoula, Montana, and most recently began serving at Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church, Waterbury, CT.
Presbytera Nancy Smith, who received her Ph.D. in art history from the University of Chicago in 2000, taught art history at Marywood University in Scranton Pennsylvania from 2001 to 2006. She has also trained as a painter and iconographer, producing icons for Holy Trinity Church in Moose Jaw. Father Walter and Presbytera have one adult daughter, Flora.
Visitation will begin at the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Church, 3125 North Main Street, Waterbury, CT at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 20. The Funeral for a Priest will be celebrated at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, May 21, the Divine Liturgy and a Panikhida will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m., followed by interment in the parish cemetery.
May Fr. Walter's memory be eternal. Please remember Presbytera Nancy, Flora, and the faithful of The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church in your prayers.