WESTERLO — Albany Medical Center was a constant in the life of Anderson E. Smith, eldest son of Dr. George H. Smith and his wife, Jane Smith, of Slingerlands.

He was born at Albany Medical Center in May 1940 and died there on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. His father earned his medical degree at Albany Medical College and Mr. Smith donated his body to the college. He was 82.

“The combination of A-Fib, COPD, and Alzheimer’s wore him down,” his family wrote in a tribute.

“Anderson died one month short of his 60th wedding anniversary with wife, Lila Hollister Smith, textile artist,” his family wrote. “Anderson was his mother’s maiden name. His middle name, Entrican, was also a family name.

“One of his great-grandmothers was a Moak. Another was a Hollister. Lila and Anderson are distant cousins. Two Hollister brothers came to this country from England well before the Revolution. He is a descendant of one brother and she of the other. Some Hollisters stayed in the East and some went west. 

“Anderson (east) and Lila (west) met at Colorado State University. Both got bachelor of science degrees: he in forest management and she in bacteriology. They were married in the college chapel.

“After graduation from Colorado State and Reserve Officer Training Corps, Anderson’s first assignment was Korea with the Army artillery. His wife and newborn daughter, Alice, stayed at Colorado State University. When he came back to this country, they joined him at Fort Carson, Colorado. His son, Jacob, was born there. Then the family went to Germany.

“When Captain Smith resigned his commission, he returned to Slingerlands. Anderson’s meticulous attention to detail had served him well in the military. It was to do so in future work and home projects.

“He found a job on Long Island and went into sales and management, circuit boards, and then motorcycles. He also raced motorcycles. The family lived on Long Island for 13 years and added another daughter, Heather.

“After moving to Westerlo in 1981, Anderson managed Shopsmith stores and sporting goods at Dick’s. When he got tired of that, he tried big-rig trucking, both with a big company and then as an independent owner-operator. That was hard because it took him away from home.

“His family was always very important to him. It was especially so because he lost both parents as a young man, then his brother, Thomas W. Smith.

“Anderson was a collector of guns, trumpets, cameras, and tools. He had the foresight to sell the guns. He wanted to spare his family that chore. He played the trumpet with several local bands. He took professional quality photographs of family, gardens, trucks, vintage cars, animals, and quilts.

“His collection of tools helped him be his own mechanic, fixer, inventor, and woodworker. He was able to figure out how things worked. Then he could fix, install, or improve whatever was needed. He could do plumbing as well as building. He built counters, cupboards, shelves and many drawers for bedroom, utility room, barn-workshop, kitchen, library, studio, and music room.

“Anderson E. Smith will be missed. He is survived by his wife, Lila; son, Jacob Smith; daughters, Alice Thomas and Heather Machabee and her husband, Dan; grandchildren, Keith and Holly; brother, George H. Smith; and scattered cousins and nieces.

“If you would like to remember him, plant a tree in his honor.”