I am deeply sorry to learn today of the death of Frank "Todd" Dodd Smith, Jr.  We never had the occasion to meet but I am certain the meeting would have been grand.  I have come to know Todd in recent days through my study of our common family ancestry. 

I am an ancestor of his based upon the union of John Whistler and Ann McIntosh.  While Mary McIntosh departed Orange County, Virginia, and began a new life elsewhere, a whole host of her relatives remained there.   I discovered this connection through the wonderful research of a cousin, the late Madelaine Lindsey Green, and my more recent Internet searches that brought me into contact with Todd's research.  Their combined research efforts  weave together a long winding history across multiple centuries and continents.

God bless you for your efforts.

Craig Galloway  

Oh Tony, if only I knew…
      You have been a dear and trusted friend of my late husband, David, and me since David moved to GaTech in 1979 and I followed in 1980. 
      I sent you an email yesterday to find out how you were doing in this corona time, and when the email was returned, I searched the internet...
      A man with unbounded generosity. A real seeker of knowledge who dared to wrestle with challenging and fundamental questions in physics. A trusted and kind friend.  A beautiful soul.
      May your memory be for blessing.


R.I.P. my friend, Tony. I just read of your passing in the legal documents. During your time of failing health, I was involved with the care of a family member.

You were such gentleman and the apple of your Mom’s eye. (Even to a fault) you had your special place in this world for a special man.

In 1984 in Canterbury, UK, I met Tony’s cowboy hat at a physics conference.  We’d been friends and frequent correspondents ever since.  This morning, the absence of recent emails being of some concern, I googled his name and discovered his light was gone.  I wrote to some friends:

Opinions varied, 

but I am deeply saddened.  His spirit was 
brilliant, inventive - sometimes too much, 
if that is even possible.  I am certain that 
in the end he left convinced that his core 
ideas in physics were fundamentally 
correct.  As frustrating as he sometimes 
was, I am glad he continued to be 
unconvinced by my arguments that 
recognition was impossible, that the 
mainstream had no interest in novelty 
of this sort.  I wish I had been able to 
understand it better, but it always seemed 
just out of my grasp, and sometimes, 
because of his encyclopedic knowledge, 
much further from my grasp.  

The universe is a smaller place without him.  
My universe ...


Rare, unusual, eccentric.  These are just a few of the adjectives that could be used to describe Tony.   You could also use adjectives like kind, affable, polite and loyal to describe Tony as well.  It is hard to describe the man in a few words because he was simply one of a kind.  In the time span of one conversation with Tony, you could be in awe of his brilliance and also frustrated with his stubbornness .  Yet, you always felt personally enriched after contact with Tony and I will miss him.   I regret that I was unaware of his declining health  and that I was unable to spend time with him before his passing.  

I agree with sentiments of other mourners here that we may not have heard the last of Tony Smith regarding his physics theories.  Tony was a fan of the works of author H. P.  Lovecraft.     Lovecraft was an unknown author during his lifetime but became arguably the most famous posthumous author of all time.   I would not be surprised if Tony was also a man born "out of time" .    Rest in Peace.  

I'd like to impress upon anyone who knew Mr. Smith personally, and of course to any living family members whom are now executor of his estate, how much Mr. Smith's website had changed my worldview in life.

I did not know him, nor got a chance to communicate with him. Many times, I wondered how appropriate it would be, just to drop a postcard off at his address, he had listed at the website, if only to thank him, for him being him. He was an enigma to me.

I've been reading his writing for close to two decades now. It was a pleasant surprise to finally put a face to that name, when he appeared on the Quantum Gravity Research YouTube channel, now just a single year back. It feels like yesterday. The recent news of his declining health at the end of the summer, that I had read from the published whitepapers archived at vixra.org, had me prepared for the passing of this great man. I still feel sorrow none-the-less, upon learning, when I did an internet search with his name last week (as I usually do, when going to the vixra site).

Please accept my love and condolences everyone, and the hope, that his legacy will be saved for as long as (acceptably) possible. The costs of the website's continued preservation, now as a burden to his distant family, may in time, hopefully be part of donation campaign in the future? I respectfully request this consideration, so others may someday be able to study his theories, too.

It is my humble opinion, we may never know what he gave us in our lifetimes, it's quite possible only mankind years into the future, will come to understand the work of this savant genius, and what it will mean to humanity's experience.

May Over-Soul bless you wherever you are Tony; and thank you very much for this space, to close a book on Mr. Smith's intellectual influence upon my life.

I didn't want to write much here, but no-one else seemed to consider his frustration in life either.

So I felt it my duty then, to justify it...with a final "peer" review.

I have known Tony all of my life and was crushed to learn of his passing. My father and Tony went to law school together and were best friends. They both were quintessential Southern gentlemen with uncommon wisdom. After my father's passing, Tony helped provide emotional support and invaluable advice in the operation of our family business. My highlight of the week was always my regular lunches with Tony at the Appalachian Grill. I always enjoyed Tony's quick wit and unique insight on life. He was both a friend and a mentor.  I considered him like an uncle and miss him greatly.

Tony will be missed by the entire Wilson family. 

Tony was a friend who could discuss any topic whether it was Mathematics or Tennessee Volunteer football. 

Conversations with Tony were inspiring and I learned something new during every encounter.

Rest Well My Friend 

OBITUARY

Frank "Tony" Dodd Smith Jr.

March 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019

Owen Funeral Home

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