Benjamin B. Smith

The Reverend Benjamin Bosworth Smith died on October 21, 2010 in Mt. Pleasant, SC at the Hospice Center of Charleston.

He was born December 6, 1929, in Montgomery, Ala., the son of Frederick Rutledge Smith and Mary Burton Matthews Smith.  He was named for his great-great grandfather, the Right Reverend Benjamin Bosworth Smith, First Bishop of Kentucky and ninth Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.  He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1951 and from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1954. He attended Naval Officers Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and was a major in the Alabama National Guard.

In 1954, he was called to serve as Curate of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Mountain Brook, Ala.  In 1956, he became the vicar of St. Andrew's Mission, Dog River, Mobile, Ala.  He became the first rector of that parish.  In 1964, he became the Episcopal Chaplain to the University of Alabama Medical School in Birmingham.  Later, he developed an ecumenical ministry serving eight denominations known as the Churches' Ministry to the Medical Center.

Called to be Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in the city of Charleston, SC, in 1977, he served until his retirement in 1992.  While at Grace he was a founder and first president of the board of Hospice of Charleston which operated from the church during its first few years.  He founded a soup kitchen at Grace Church which later merged with the homeless shelter to form Crisis Ministries.  He oversaw extensive repairs to the church building following the damage caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

He was a Fellow of the College of Preachers at the National Cathedral.  He served on the Board of Directors, the Board of Visitors and the Program Committee of Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC for a number of years.  He was a member of the Charleston Rotary Club, the Downtown Episcopal Clergy of the New South, and the Friends of Hampton. In recognition of his service to the church and the city, he received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the College of Charleston in 1991.

After retiring from Grace Church, he became an Associate Priest at St. Stephens Episcopal Church.  He continued to work as an organizational and congregational consultant and was an Associate of the Alban Institute.

Mr. Smith was a sailor, fly fisherman, artist and musician.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Hahn Smith; one son, Benjamin Bosworth Smith, Jr. (Kimberly Mixon Smith) of Mt Pleasant, SC; three daughters, Elizabeth Ransom Smith (Kurt Riitters) of Chapel Hill, NC; Middleton Smith Jones (William T. Jones, Jr.) of Yonges Island, SC., and Barbara Beene Smith (David B. Rice) of Durham, NC; one brother, Frederick Rutledge Smith of Wainscott, NY; one sister, Burton Smith Harris (Henry E. Harris) of Louisville, KY; and eight grandchildren, Kelly Smith, Emily Smith, Reese Smith, Elizabeth Riitters, William Jones, Benjamin Jones, Byron Rice and Samuel Rice.

A funeral service will be held October 25, 2010 at 3:00 pm at Grace Episcopal Church. Inurnment will be held at a later date. The family will receive friends immediately following service in Hanahan Hall. Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR DOWNTOWN CHAPEL.

Memorials may be made to Grace Episcopal Church 98 Wentworth Street, Charleston, SC 29401 or Hospice of Charleston, 676 Wando Park Boulevard, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.