Richard Floyd Smith wasn’t just a teacher. He was a lifeline for so many of us. He was a mentor, a director, a guiding force who saw what we couldn’t yet see in ourselves. He wasn’t the kind of educator who simply stood in front of a classroom — he pulled us into his orbit, ignited our passions, and set us on paths we never knew we could take. He changed lives, including the life of an Academy Award winner, in ways that words will always struggle to capture.
On February 25, at 80 years old, Mr. Smith took his final bow. But his impact? That will never fade.
Richard F. Smith teaching a speech class in 1971Courtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
Most of us former students still call him Mr. Smith, even decades after leaving his classroom. For those lucky enough to sit under his instruction, he wasn’t just a teacher — he was a force of nature. His love for language, storytelling, and performance was infectious, and through his years at the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (now DoDEA), he shaped thousands of voices — voices of students whose lives moved across continents, who often struggled to belong, and who found in him a constant, unwavering presence. DoDEA is the U.S. military’s school system for children of service members.
I was one of those students.
My family moved more than 10 times before I graduated, making me the new kid in school more often than I could count. But when we arrived in Baumholder, Germany, in 1995, Mr. Smith was the first to make me feel at home. He saw something I hadn’t yet discovered in me — a confidence I didn’t know I had.
Because of him, I learned to love language and writing. Because of him, I stepped onto a stage for the first time. I portrayed a defense attorney in the play The Night of January 16th and became part of the world he created in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. One year, he asked me to choreograph a production of the musical Grease — a clear indication that he knew I couldn’t sing but trusted me enough to find another way to shine.
Decades later, when I appeared on national television covering the 2024 presidential campaign for The Advocate, he was still watching, still guiding me, still pushing me to be better. After my live interview from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Scripps News aired, he sent me a note:
Richard Smith sent this note to The Advocate's Christopher Wiggins after he appeared on live national television from the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.Facebook via Christopher Wiggins
“Chris, I watched your presentation with that interview during the Convention. You know that I was a speech teacher and I saw that you have a tendency to use the word ‘really’ several times when you replied. Perhaps I was the only one who caught it. I just want you to be aware. Try and think of other words to replace it.”
He was, of course, right. He was always right.
But that was Mr. Smith — he never stopped teaching, never stopped investing in his students, even long after we had left his classroom.
Richard F. Smith stayed in touch with students from decades of teaching.Courtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
He did the same for so many others, including Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore, who was one of his students at Frankfurt American High School in Germany. Moore, who told me she remained in touch with Mr. Smith over email, remembers him as someone who deeply loved theater and language and who had an unwavering belief in his students.
“As a teacher at Frankfurt American High School, he offered support and encouragement to so many of his students and had real belief in our talents and abilities,” she said. “It was that support that enabled so many of us to pursue careers in the arts."
Moore added, "Acknowledgment from an adult can change a student’s life. Richard certainly changed mine.”
That was the kind of teacher he was. He believed in you, but he would also challenge you. And that challenge was part of the gift.
But you didn’t have to be in his class to feel his impact. He knew every student, every face, every voice. He’d greet you in the hallway, chat with you between classes, and make you feel seen in a way that not many adults took the time to do. His theater productions weren’t just school plays — they were events, moments that brought together students from every background and turned them into family.
Richard F. Smith with his partner of 45 years, husband Lynn BarnesCourtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
And his love? It wasn’t just for his students.
In the 1990s, when LGBTQ+ visibility wasn’t what it is today, Mr. Smith and his late husband, Lynn Barnes, were simply part of our school community. Their relationship was never questioned, whispered about, or treated as anything other than what it was — two people who loved each other. I didn’t realize until years later, after moving to the U.S., going to college, and coming out myself, how rare that was back then.
But that’s what Mr. Smith did. He showed us, without words, that being yourself wasn’t just possible — it was beautiful, normal, and worthy of celebration.
He outlived Lynn by nearly five years. Lynn died of COVID-19 in 2020, and though the loss was unimaginable, living in Pennsylvania, Mr. Smith never disappeared into grief. He stayed connected; he reached out to old students and kept his love for storytelling alive. He also took an interest in politics, worrying that with the return of President Donald Trump, the country was in trouble and that rights like his to marry were at risk.
Even in his final years, his impact stretched across time and distance.
One student reflected: “I hope I can be half the director and educator that you were. Thank you for saving my life. I owe you so much.”
Another remembered his presence in the hallways: “You didn’t have to be in one of his classes to know how important of a person Mr. Smith was. He seemed to know everyone in our high school, and I fondly remember having small chats in the halls between classes. His presence and smile permeated through our school and added a sense of calm.”
Richard F. Smith in London near Big BenCourtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
And yet another, a former drama student, wrote, “You permanently altered the trajectory of my life with one hand around my shoulder and a ‘There you are! Let’s go,’ as you escorted me into the [International School Theatre Association] audition before I could chicken out.”
Richard Floyd Smith changed lives.
It should come as no surprise that a man who spent his life telling stories wrote his own final one. His niece, Michele Pickens, shared his self-written obituary with the world, with just one addition — the date of his passing.
His words, story, and legacy are his final gift to us.
He embraced one philosophy: “Practice like you’ve never won; perform like you’ve never lost.”
Mr. Smith, you never lost.
And we will never forget.
Below, in his own words, is the final story Mr. Smith left us
Richard Floyd Smith was on his last orbit on this earth when he passed away on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
Richard was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on January 30, 1945, the son of Jack Edmund and Margaret Ann Smith. His father, Jack, was somewhere fighting in The Battle of the Bulge in Belgium when he was born. There were two wonderful sisters, Judith Ann Pickens, and Jackie Lou Wren, in that household on 2327 Eoff Street. At an early age, Richard loved to take things apart and put them back together. His mother once found him trying to take apart the electric fuse box. The house had four rooms with only cold water and no proper bathroom. Rent was a staggering twelve dollars a month. All three children slept in one room, the sisters in the big bed and Richard in the small one. In 1954 they moved nearer to his grandmother in the east part of Wheeling.
During the high school years, he worked at numerous jobs from working in a factory on special weekends to delivering Easter lilies to a madam in the red-light district. After graduation from high school in 1962, Richard attended West Liberty University where he graduated in secondary education with a major in English, speech, and theatre. His knowledge of the theatre blossomed under the tutelage of Stanley Harrison. He began to teach in the Newcomerstown, Ohio, school system, where he taught English and speech and theatre for two years.
He then was hired to teach in the Department of Defense Overseas School system and spent thirty-one years teaching in Okinawa and Germany. He received his master’s degree from Ohio University in 1978, majoring in Organizational Communications. He began in 1986 a PhD Program with New York University in Educational Theatre in London, England, but health concerns kept him from completing the program. Richard loved sharing his knowledge of theatre and theatre productions, with close to 100 productions and four self-written plays. He was one of five theatre teachers who founded the International Schools Theatre Association ISTA in 1981 and was a board member for many years. Presently, the association’s membership has over 200 schools throughout the world. Many of his students kept up with him including Julianne Moore, best actress in the Oscars for her role in Still Alice.
Everyone has a passion and purpose to live by. Throughout his life, Richard wanted to convey what he knew about theatre, and his shows were always Broadway-quality productions. He used to say to his students, “I don’t do Minnie-on-the-farm productions, and neither do all of you.” His philosophy was, “Practice like you’ve never won; Perform like you’ve never lost”. Sometimes a shoe would be thrown to the stage if an actor was not looking or smiling where he or she should be.
In 1972, after having lived for one month on the island of Okinawa, Richard met his best buddy, and they shared over 45 years of companionship. Together, they traveled by train to cities such as Paris, Rome, Venice, Prague, and Barcelona. When he was stationed in Asia, he experienced the sites of Taiwan, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. Some of his special experiences were having a traditional Japanese hot bath, “Onsen,” visiting Kathmandu, Nepal, and its majestic mountains, The Taj Mahal in India, and Kabul, Afghanistan, before the Russian invasion. Europe brought to him more memories, such as the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, Jerusalem, and Israel during Passover, to what was called then Leningrad, Russia. With theatre as his love, he saw many productions in London.
In 2001, Richard and Lynn retired to Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Travels to New York City were often since the Amtrak train passed very near their home. They were fortunate to own a timeshare at The Manhattan Club just two blocks south of Central Park and another in Mexico. On June 2, 2014, Richard and Lynn were married thirteen days after the courts in Pennsylvania decided that everyone should be equal.
Retirement gave him time to pursue his hobby of genealogy. His mother’s side goes back to Edward Rawson, the first secretary to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s, and his father’s side, Andrew Smith, came from Germany in 1752.
Richard was preceded in death by his spouse, Lynn Barnes, his parents, Jack and Margaret Smith, his grandparents, his uncles and aunts, and many loving pets. He is survived by his two sisters, Judy Pickens and Jackie Wren, nephews and nieces, great nephews and nieces, and many, many friends from his DoDDS teaching years overseas.
Richard always kept his membership with the Aldersgate Methodist Church since early childhood. He is also a member of the Federal Education, Kappa Delta Phi, an international honor society in education, Alpha Psi Omega, an honor college fraternity in theatre. There are no memorial services planned. His cremated remains will be buried at Parkview Memorial Gardens in Wheeling, West Virginia. Theatre was his life, and life is not measured in the breaths we take but in moments that take our breath away. It is time for him to exit stage right.
“When I go, don’t learn to live without me, just learn to live
With my love in a different way. And if you need to see me,
Close your eyes or look in your shadow when the sun shines.
I’m there. Sit with me in the quiet, and you will know that I
Did not leave. There is no leaving when a soul is blended
With another. When I go, don’t learn to live without me.
Just learn to look for me in the moment. I will be there.”
— Donna Ashworth
Richard F. Smith teaching a speech class in 1971Courtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
Richard Smith sent this note to The Advocate's Christopher Wiggins after he appeared on live national television from the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.Facebook via Christopher Wiggins
Richard F. Smith stayed in touch with students from decades of teaching.Courtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
Richard F. Smith with his partner of 45 years, husband Lynn BarnesCourtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
Richard F. Smith in London near Big BenCourtesy Family of Richard F. Smith
