Robert Charles Smith

Robert C. Smith was a Junior in college at Georgetown when he met Joanie Hillenbrand in 1953. He dazzled her over gin martinis, playing jazz standards at the piano in his fraternity house. They married just two years later. Bob’s ability to play nearly any piece of music by ear—actively transposing it into the key of C—was a genetic gift from his mother, who like him, lived well into her nineties. Bob was born February 16th, 1931 in Chicago to parents Harold G. and Margaret “Gigi” Stenger Smith. He was the one of five children who shared a love for music and often sang together. His only surviving sister, Margo, brightened the days immediately preceding his passing. Bob was also a virtuosic entrepreneur, whose 50-year career spanned creative interests from investor relations and hospital equipment to pool covers and plastics. He even brought the first consumer mud mask to market, after purchasing a small cosmetics manufacturer in 1979. To each of his endeavors, Bob brought both the sparkling charm he honed behind the piano and the single-minded discipline he learned as a 1st Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. His greatest composition, though, was his family. Bob is survived by six of his seven children: Dolph, Veronica, Meg, Matt, Adam, and Joni and 21 grandchildren. The loss of his younger brother, Graham, in 1983 and his eldest son, Hill, in 2010 were two of the great tragedies of his life. He faced those losses as he did everything—¬with a deep trust in God, grounded in his Catholic Faith. Bob brought that faith to life through philanthropy, especially as a Trustee of Franciscan University and a founding donor of the Women’s Care Center, which has served nearly 17,000 young women since its opening. The piano was a throughline in Bob’s life. He delighted his children and friends with late night singalongs at home in Greenwich, Connecticut, Michigan City, Indiana, and finally, Indianapolis. He was quick to accompany any of his 20 grandchildren in Chopsticks and would play Christmas Carols to the sound of wrapping paper and delighted squeals every December. He was a lover of golf, Beefeater gin, and especially puns (“Is that shirt felt? It is now!”). He is still owed a tremendous amount of money from playing Gin Rummy. Our beloved Opa passed away peacefully on December 7th, 2022 just days after meeting his first great-grandchild, Cecilia. He was 91. His family welcomes you to join us for prayer and visitation on Tuesday, December 13th from 4-7pm at Leppert Mortuary (740 E. 86th St. Indianapolis, IN 46240) and for his Mass of Christian Burial at St. Louis de Montfort (11441 Hague Rd. Fishers, IN 46-38) at 1pm on Wednesday, December 14th. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary.com where you may share a personal memory of Bob by echoing his generosity to the Women’s Care Center (womenscarecenter.org) or DigDeep Water (digdeep.org).