Archie Thurman Smith

Archie Thurman Smith passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 21, 2019 at his home in Jupiter, Florida after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Archie and his wife, Shirley, had become Florida residents in 2016 while also maintaining their residence in Greenwich, CT. Shirley described Florida as Archie’s “Happy Place”.

Archie is survived by his wife, Shirley Truman, daughters, Erica Smith-Branch (Charlie), and Kristin, Charles Thurman, grandson and Kylie, granddaughter. Archie often bragged about the fact that his wife and daughter, Kristin, had earned doctorates and daughter Erica is now in medical school. He often said that he was going to become a doctor in golfing, and was working hard at earning that degree so he could join the family tradition. Archie was born on March 23, 1945 to Henry Roland and Eulah Bell Long Smith in the farming town of Nakina, N.C. Affectionately known as “Thurman” in North Carolina, he was the middle child of twelve sisters and brothers. After his father’s untimely death at the age of 48, Archie assumed the role of “head-of-household” and father to his sisters and brothers at the tender age of 16. Archie is survived by a host of sisters, brothers, in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends who live all over the country.

Archie had the most loving family, and they all gave him the love and respect that had come with being the Patriarch of their family in their earlier years. They called each other frequently, and enjoyed family get-togethers with the love and zest that most would find enviable.

Archie earned his B.A degree in Mathematics at the D.C. Teachers College and his MBA at Pace University in New York. After graduating from his Bachelors program, he began his career at the IBM Corporation, quickly moving up the ladder from Programmer to Branch Manager for their typewriter division. The IBM career afforded the family to transfer frequently, moving to New Jersey and Denver, Colorado to head the Denver branch office for office products. Archie had well over 40 years of leadership experience. He was the co-owner of Therapy Resources of New York, a healthcare company with over 200 employees that provided rehabilitation services throughout the state of NY. He was responsible for Strategic Planning, Human Resources and Marketing. He held Executive positions at the IBM Corporation in Marketing and Sales as well as Pitney Bowes Corporation. Most recently, Archie entered into a partnership to formulate the KAG Corporation which does product distribution and management support for various commodities. KAG covered every stage of the supply chain services from distribution, packaging, strategic planning, assembly, acquisition, procurement services and customer care for companies throughout the U.S. While doing all of his important corporate work, his biggest love was that of a real estate investor. Archie and Shirley were proud owners of properties in Greenwich, Florida, Manhattan, Martha’s Vineyard, North Carolina, and Virginia. Archie loved being an entrepreneur.

Archie held memberships in the CT Guardsmen, was a charter member of Delta Nu Boule before transferring to Epsilon Lambda Boule in Palm Beach Florida, and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He and Shirley were also members of the Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY. Archie enjoyed golf, driving his Porsche, and reading the Sunday paper. Archie was a fine gentleman who loved his family dearly and found great rewards in helping others to grow and develop. He was a ray of sunshine, who will be missed by all who knew him.