W.H. activist dies at 87

West Hempstead suffered a major loss last week with the death of Robert “Bob” Smith, a 59-year resident who was an activist, a civic leader and a friend.

The 87-year-old World War II veteran died on Sunday night, several hours after he presented an award to scholarship recipients at the West Hempstead Community Scholarship Fund’s annual dinner.

Smith had returned to his table after presenting the award and, at around 9:30 p.m., he fainted, falling from his chair to the floor, according to Rosalie Norton, a civic leader who served with Smith on the West Hempstead Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He was sitting up and speaking by the time police and emergency medical technicians arrived, but lost consciousness again when he was secured on a gurney. He died a short time later at Mercy Medical Center. The cause of death was not yet known at press time.

“He was a phenomenal person,” said Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support Association. “Anytime we needed help … he was always there to give of his time, effort and energy.”

In addition to serving on the chamber board, Smith was a member of the Kiwanis Club of West Hempstead and worked closely with the West Hempstead High School Key Club to raise money for the less fortunate members of the community. “He was very generous,” Norton said, noting that he donated often to the scholarship fund.

“I’m baffled. I don’t know what to say about the man. I could go on for days,” said George Silkes, Smith’s close friend for 17 years. “He was just the type of person that everybody loved. He had a heart of gold, to say the least.”

Silkes, who rushed to the hospital Sunday night to be at Smith’s side, recalled a day when the two had left a local bagel store and ran into a homeless man who asked for change. Smith pulled out a $5 bill and handed it to him. “That’s the type of person he was,” Silkes said. “He loved everybody.”