Title
Guthrie Smith, 1920-2010
Subject
Smith, Guthrrie, 1920-2010
Mayors--Fayette (AL)
Description
Fayette lost one of its leading citizens in 2010 when former Mayor Guthrie Smith died at 97. He had committed himself to the residents of Fayette as a city councilman and mayor for more than four decades.
Smith was born in the small Fayette County community of Covin and moved with his parents to Fayette in 1920. He graduated from Fayette County High School in 1931 and went to Birmingham Southern College where he earned a business degree. He went on to earn a master’s degree in economics at the University of Virginia. After earning his master’s degree, he took a job in Washington D.C. until called to the service of his country in World War II.
Smith was inducted into the U.S. Army and was sent into the heart of the war. As a member of the Counter Intelligence Corps, he was sent through France and Germany to document the atrocities of Hitler’s Nazi regime.
As a member of the Army’s 100th Infantry Division, Smith helped liberate the concentration camp at Dachau in Germany in 1945.
Not long after his discharge from the Army in 1946, Smith came home to Fayette. By 1948, he had gone into business with his brother and was elected to the Fayette City Council. He became mayor seven years later and served nine terms from 1956-1988.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Al DuPont told Tuscaloosa News reporter Jason Morton that he had worked closely with Smith in the League of Municipalities. “He was the dean of the Alabama League,” DuPont said. “He pioneered a lot of our programs and he was always a gentleman and fair to everybody.”
Guthrie Smith died on May 7, 2010.
Smith was born in the small Fayette County community of Covin and moved with his parents to Fayette in 1920. He graduated from Fayette County High School in 1931 and went to Birmingham Southern College where he earned a business degree. He went on to earn a master’s degree in economics at the University of Virginia. After earning his master’s degree, he took a job in Washington D.C. until called to the service of his country in World War II.
Smith was inducted into the U.S. Army and was sent into the heart of the war. As a member of the Counter Intelligence Corps, he was sent through France and Germany to document the atrocities of Hitler’s Nazi regime.
As a member of the Army’s 100th Infantry Division, Smith helped liberate the concentration camp at Dachau in Germany in 1945.
Not long after his discharge from the Army in 1946, Smith came home to Fayette. By 1948, he had gone into business with his brother and was elected to the Fayette City Council. He became mayor seven years later and served nine terms from 1956-1988.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Al DuPont told Tuscaloosa News reporter Jason Morton that he had worked closely with Smith in the League of Municipalities. “He was the dean of the Alabama League,” DuPont said. “He pioneered a lot of our programs and he was always a gentleman and fair to everybody.”
Guthrie Smith died on May 7, 2010.
Source
Tuscaloosa News Archive
Publisher
The Tuscaloosa News
Date
May 8, 2010
Contributor
Betty Slowe (Description)
Type
Photograph
Identifier
1744
Coverage
Fayette County (AL)