Peter Alan Cowley Smith

Peter Alan Cowley Smith, 64, of Charleston, South Carolina, husband of Janet Day Richey entered into eternal rest Saturday, October 15, 2022. A Celebration of Life will be held Friday, November 11, 2022 in Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens, 1308 Mathis Ferry Road at 11:00 am. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel.

Peter was inspirational, optimistic, fun loving, a retired Insurance professional for John Hancock, Professor at the College of Charleston Business School, Vice Chairman Board of Directors, South Carolina Commission for the Blind, and Board member of the Gavalas Kolanko Foundation.

Born in New Market, Ontario, Canada Peter had the incredible opportunity early in his childhood to live in England where his parents were from, and eventually Puerto Rico, where he learned to speak Spanish and developed a love for Latin culture, food and life near the beach. Peter and his family moved to NJ where he enjoyed coaching youth soccer with his father while attending Ramsey High School.

College led Peter to Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with an emphasis on Technical Writing and Shakespeare.  During his time in College, Peter was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Most of us would likely view this news negatively but not Peter; he was quoted as saying the following in a Ken Burger article from The Post and Courier, Feb 14, 2011 Updated Dec 8, 2016, “Blind Exec Leads with Confidence”
“People overrate vision and underrate all their other senses. I’ve really turned on my other senses like hearing, smell and touch. When I started losing my sight, I decided to make everything else in my life better.”

<https://www.postandcourier.com/news/blind-exec-leads-with-confidence/article_c39e3200-0a60-5b9f-88fa-18b706ab01a8.html>

Following college Peter moved to Boston, MA where he worked full time for John Hancock.  It was a professional relationship spanning 33 years. Outside of work he became a Paralympic Games Athlete for the United States in Tandem Sprint Track Velodrome Cycling winning 2 Silver medals and 1 bronze medal and ran the Boston Marathon twice.

Peter flipped a perceived burden into life-affirming expression. Ensuing successes coupled with growing self-assurance led to taking on more challenges, including earning a Masters Degree in  Liberal Arts and International Relations from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Upon graduation Peter was honored to be the 2005 Judith Wood Memorial recipient, an award to recognize honor students who contended with disabilities of a serious nature, as did the Prize’s namesake. Peter continued to take on greater responsibility in leadership and volunteer work, while maintaining his full-time position at John Hancock and completing his Masters degree. Having graduated on the Dean’s List with honors and developing exceptional computer skills and information-acquisition techniques, his tireless pursuit of new challenges inspired all who knew Peter. He generated impressive amounts of donations for Paralympic racing expenses through fund-raising campaigns as well as advocating for numerous other charities from supporting scholarships for college students with disabilities to animal rescue to name just a few. Peter appeared on many television & radio programs engaging support for the Nike/MAB Boston Marathon Team. He was a cheerful volunteer in many areas including Boston Senior Home Care where he served as a board member for six years.

Peter was fluent in Spanish and was conversational in Dutch and French, developed an award winning chili recipe, was a lifelong NY Mets enthusiast, enjoyed cooking, music, gardening, politics, sports, was an exceptional navigator surprising most who drove with him, learned to golf and was well known as the Midnight Golfer - proudly participating in several Frankie Foundation tournaments in Florida. He loved teaching and was particularly excited to engage with his students and make insurance interesting, fun and relevant for them.

The quote below was written by Peter for the L Street Running Club in Boston, MA for their newsletter following his first Boston Marathon in 1993 and sums up his undeterred optimistic approach to life.

<https://mabvi.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/poor-eyesight-excellent-vision/#more-155594>

“Being visually impaired I’m used to facing obstacles and overcoming them. Some of the biggest obstacles to overcome aren’t physical at all, they’re the doubts within yourself and the misconceptions about yourself. While these challenges are difficult to overcome, they are the most satisfying.”

He leaves behind his loving wife and partner in life, Janet, whom he called his “Sunshine” and “Angel” two step-daughters: Nancy Opachinski (Michael) of Buzzards Bay, MA and Jane Day Violich (Peter) of Piedmont, CA; four grandchildren of his heart, who called him “Papi” and adored all their adventures together: Chandler, Madison, Samantha and Jackson; his brother Graham Smith (Tammy), nephew, Trevor, niece, Rachel and grand niece, Penelope of Skaneateles, NY; extended family/“adopted daughters”, Michelle and Mily of Boston, MA; Princess Cuddlesworth, his adoring tuxedo Manx cat; many dear friends, colleagues and students, all a daily blessing to him in his lifetime.

Peter is preceded in death by his parents Raymond and Joy Smith, his beloved orange and white cat, the Duke of Marmalade and his Charleston family: George and Dory Spalding.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to:The Gavalas Kolanko Foundation, PO Box 1893, Mt. Pleasant SC 29465; Pet Helpers - 1447 Folly Road, Charleston, SC 29412; or St. Michaels Church - 71 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401.