THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 30, 1996 TAG: 9603300277
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Former Sheriff Sylvester John ``Joe'' Smith, who died at Sentara Bayside Hospital on Thursday, was remembered Friday by friends and colleagues as one who gave to his community the gift of a lifetime of public service.
A native of Suffolk, Smith began his career by joining the Marines and helping the country fight World War II.
Assigned to the Cabot, a converted aircraft carrier, Smith saw action in nine major battles in the Pacific theater, and its crew members were later awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.
After the war, he returned to Hampton Roads and immediately joined the Virginia State Police, serving 27 years as a trooper until 1972, when he was tapped by Democratic Party boss Sidney Kellam to run for Virginia Beach sheriff. He was elected in 1973 and held the post for 12 years.
``He was just scrupulously honest,'' said Jack Dewan, superintendent of the Western Tidewater Regional Jail. Dewan served as Smith's jail administrator. ``He was really conservative when it came to spending taxpayers' money. I often joked that he could pinch a feather off the headdress of an Indian nickel.''
Smith, 75, was well-known for his old-fashioned political style of never missing a wedding or a funeral. Often, he directed traffic for the funeral processions of people he came to know as sheriff - and those he did not know well.
``He was the kind of politician who was every place, all the time,'' Dewan said. ``If there were two or more people gathered, he'd be there. I'd say that every day of every week he attended something.''
Smith's nickname was ``Joe,'' which he picked up while working as a cub reporter for the Suffolk News Herald.
``Someone at the newspaper gave it to him, and it just stuck,'' said Smith's daughter, Anita Smith, a deputy clerk for the Virginia Beach General District Court.
The nickname stayed with him throughout his life, as he was often called ``Trooper Joe'' and, later, ``Sheriff Joe.''
``Not too many people called him Sheriff Smith,'' she said. ``It was mostly `Sheriff Joe.'
``It was right out of the old school.''
Smith was a transitional figure between the old-style politics and the new, more managerial style of sheriff, said Gene Millette, who was Smith's chief deputy for 11 years.
When Smith was first elected, it was not uncommon for a sheriff to simply have deputies whose job was to guard the jail, the courts, and transfer prisoners, he said.
Under the modern managerial-styled organization, positions were created for executives to administer the jail while sheriffs went about their political duties.
``His biggest thing, though, was the taxpayer,'' Millette said. ``He really was very sensitive to spending taxpayers' money.
``He was almost over-conscientious. If you could use one stamp instead of three, you'd use one. Too bad we don't have more people like that in government today.''
But it was the common touch that Millette remembers.
``He was a people kind of person. One of his favorite sayings was, `It's not what you did, it's what the people think you did.' ''
Millette said Smith's frugality even extended to vacations, which Smith rarely took.
``I can honestly remember only one time when he took a vacation, and even then he called me three times,'' he said.
In addition to his wife of 50 years, Adele B. Smith, Smith is survived by three daughters: Anita Lynn Smith; Joanne Savage, a NationsBank employee; and Kathryn Smith, who works for the city attorney's office; and two sons: Rayford Paul Smith, a Virginia Beach firefighter; and Glenn Franklin Smith, who works for S.L. Nusbaum. ILLUSTRATION: B\W Photo
Former Virginia Beach Sheriff Sylvester John ``Joe'' Smith, who died
Thursday, ``was just scrupulously honest,'' a former administrator
said.
KEYWORDS: OBITUARY by CNB