Seven Villages, Janet Joakim

It has been a very difficult few weeks as we respected the privacy of a dear friend, and silently prayed that his final days would be peaceful.

This town lost one of its closest and most loyal friends when Bob Smith passed away this morning.

Bob, who was respected and revered nationally and statewide, and whose heart was with the Town of Barnstable, was also simply one of the nicest people I have ever known.

I learned so much from him. As I said recently, if you told me 6 years ago that I would be able to cite the Emerson College case in a discussion about fees and taxes, I would never have believed it.

In good times and bad, that sparkle in his eye meant Bob was always ready with a joke or a story that would lighten any moment.  His anecdotes about our town from throughout his tenure are worthy of publishing. Until this year, he would boast that he never missed a town council meeting.

And, with that “errrrrr” (”that signals a gathering of thoughts,” he once said) that came across as a growl, and cocked head, he could answer just about every question or settle any argument during any proceeding or discussion with grace and confidence with an occasional sprinkle of humor. It was always clear that he loved his job, and he would defend this town’s government to no end.

He genuinely believed in and was proud of Barnstable.

He loved his family, his boat, his gadgets, and trucks. (Why orange Bob?)

There are so many people who will feel this loss. We pray for his his wife has lost her high school sweetheart and his two sons who have lost their father, for his close friends and long-time co-workers for whom he was a part of their daily routine, and for the fellow attorneys throughout the state who referred to him as “The Dean of Municpal Law.”

Personally, during this past year, despite his health problems, he was a stabilizing force in tough times and I enjoyed and took advantage of any time I could spend with him. And, as if to illustrate the true meaning of friendship, he seemed determined to make me smile or laugh before he would leave any meeting. Despite the fact that I only knew him for six years, his passing is a tremendous loss.

In these situations it’s not uncommon to say, “I wish I had known that the last time I saw him, would be the last time I would see him; I would have said…..”

Thank you, Bob
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from the Cape Cod Times - this article can be found in full here
Robert Dixon Smith
CENTERVILLE - Robert Dixon Smith, 64, longtime Barnstable town attorney, died Sept. 30, 2007, after a courageous battle against cancer.  A graduate of Northeastern University and Boston University School of Law, Mr. Smith had served as town attorney for Barnstable since 1979. Previously, he had been an aide to former Speaker of the House and Secretary of State Jack Davoren. In 1967, as a Ford Foundation Fellow, he authored Massachusetts legislation providing compensation to victims of violent crime, one of the first in the country.

He was the first employee of the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns, the precursor to the Massachusetts Municipal Association. In this role, Mr. Smith was almost single-handedly responsible for assuring the state constitutional Home Rule Amendment, which provided municipalities’ independent legal authority to control their own destinies was properly implemented.

Viewing the 351 Massachusetts communities as incubators for democracy, the protection and expansion of the power of municipalities became his life work. Known and revered throughout Massachusetts as the dean of municipal attorneys, he served as president of the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association from 1993-1994 and received, the President’s Award, that organization’s highest honor, in 1997.

Mr. Smith devoted himself to the Town of Barnstable, and there was no important decision in the town during his tenure that did not bear his imprint. When, in 2002 the Barnstable Town Council honored Mr. Smith with a proclamation for his integrity and his lifelong commitment to public service, it was noted that ”The burdens of public service are abundan - some imposed by statute, others by rule or regulation by the very government that one serves - but all of which are overcome by ideals, hope, commitment to truth and hard work, which are best demonstrated by Robert Smith in his service to the people of Barnstable.”

He was a doting father. When Mr. Smith’s sons, Ben and Alex, became involved in youth hockey, he became active in the Barnstable Youth Hockey League, ultimately serving as its president. Even after the boys were grown, he continued to offer his services as the league’s treasurer. He devised a computerized registration system for that organization in the early 1980s, when personal computing was virtually unknown.

Mr. Smith is survived by his wife of 41 years, Donna; two sons, Alexander and his fiancee, Tricia, of Hyannis, and Benjamin of East Cambridge; his mother, Frances of Arlington; his sister, Evelyn and her husband, Jack, of Arlington; and brothers, David and his wife, Donna, of Canton, Richard and his wife, Debbie, of Rocklin, Calif., and Jerry of Seattle Wash.; and several nieces and nephews. Mr. Smith was predeceased by his father, Robert E. Smith, and sister, Barbara Smith.

From the Town of Barnstable’s Special Newsletter

From the Barnstable Patriot