Leonard Earl Smith

Leonard Earl Smith of Grasonville, MD, died on Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at Heartland House in Grasonville, MD. He was 92. Born August 17, 1916, in Grasonville, he was the son of the late Earl H. and Helen Sabins Smith. He was raised in Grasonville, and, on August 17, 1937, he married the former Elizabeth Beck. During World War II, he worked in the shipyard, and in 1947, they purchased and operated the Smith’s Trading Center in Grasonville for 40 years. Throughout the years Mr. Smith was known as the unofficial Mayor of Grasonville and remembered fondly for the old country store he ran on Main Street until the 1980’s. In addition to earning the reputation as a good friend and neighbor, Mr. Smith earned the distinction of being the only Queen Anne’s County Commissioner elected to four consecutive terms. He is also the only Queen Anne’s County Commissioner to have been elected as President of the Maryland Association of Counties. It was during Mr. Smith’s tenure as County Commissioner that developers of the planned community Columbia, considered developing Wye Island. Mr. Smith was the driving force preventing the development of the environmentally sensitive Wye Island. While serving as County Commissioner, Mr. Smith dedicated Mowbray Park and Chesterwye Center, broke ground at Route 18 Park and served as President of the County Commission during the Bicentennial Celebration, which included hosting the visit from Princess Anne of Great Britain. Additionally, Mr. Smith is a founding father and lifelong member of both the Grasonville Volunteer Fire Company and the Bay Country Moose Lodge in Queenstown, the Queenstown VFW #7464, Knights of the Pythians, Queenstown Bank Board of Directors 1956- 1997 where he was Director Emirtis. During his terms as commissioner, he helped establish the Sanitary District and on October 26, 2004, the Leonard Smith Trail was named after him in Grasonville, MD. Mr. Smith is survived by a son, Joseph B. Smith and his wife Margie of Queenstown, MD; daughter-in-law, Joan H. Smith of Centreville, MD; sister, Helen Marie Golt of Chester, MD; four grandchildren, Donna Smith Turner, Donald L. Smith, Andrea Ambruso, and Randy J. Smith; two step-grandchildren, Joshua Whiteley and Christy Whitely; great grandchildren, Billy Knotts, Matthew Smith, Heather Jarrell, Mallory Smith-Buellis, Brody Smith, Casey Smith and Abigail Smith; step great-grandchild, Jarrett Whiteley; great-great-grandchildren, Taylor Smith, Will Jarrell, Delaney Knotts, and Dalton Knotts. He was pre-deceased by his wife, Elizabeth Smith in 2005; son, William Leonard Smith in 1991; sister, Madeline Warner and Sylvia Volkman; brothers, Howard Smith, Earl Smith, John Smith and Charles Smith. Funeral services will be held on Monday, April 20, 2009, at the Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P. A., Centreville, MD, at 11 a.m. Friends may call at the funeral home on Sunday from 3-7 p.m. Burial will be at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Easton, MD. Memorial donations may be made to the Grasonville Volunteer Fire Dept, P.O. Box 457, Grasonville, MD 21658 or to the Hospice of Queen Anne’s, Inc., 255 Comet Drive, Centreville, MD 21617.

Leonard Earl Smith

August 17, 1916 - April 15, 2009