Thomas H. Smith, 88 died peacefully at his residence Sunday morning December 26, 2021 after a brief illness. He was born March 19, 1933 in Schenectady, NY the son of Thomas and Julia (Zaleskiewicz) Smith. Tom was blessed with a long and fruitful retirement following a 31-year career as a professor of English Literature at Castleton State University where he taught various courses including Creative Writing, Irony and Satire, Children's Literature, and World Literature. He received his undergraduate degree at SUNY Albany. Tom continued his graduate studies in English Literature while also teaching classes at Rutgers University. Tom was a lifelong writer. In his own words, cribbed from the jacket of his recent novel; "many poems have appeared in many little magazines, along with twelve volumes of poems, one novel and a long prize-winning story. Your House Is On Fire is Toms second novel.". Until his recent illness Tom led a local writers group that met monthly at his home. Tom was a gifted actor and singer, and performed in many and varied roles at CSU and other local companies, among which are Elizabeth and Jack Darton's Sometime theater, Actor's Rep, 2 seasons at Killington Playhouse, and Merchant's Hall Theater Lab. Tom had a lifelong passion for movies, theatre, classical music, opera and art. He studied ballet for many years with Ilene Blackman. A great lover of gardening, he spent many hours cultivating his yard into beautiful works of art. He is remembered as loving good food, Christmas, crossword puzzles, games, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune as well as many cooking shows. He is survived by his loving wife Virginia (DeAngelis) Smith, and by his two adoring sons, Ben Smith of Austin, TX and Julian Smith, of Castleton. They remember him as a loving husband and father. He was grandfather to Michael, David, Ryan, Nathaniel and Max and great-grandfather to Lucy, Roy, David Jr and Joshua and their big brother Brody. Tom was predeceased by his parents and his brother, Joseph Smith who left us too soon. The English department will present a memorial service for Tom at the CSU Chapel in the spring. Please join us in this celebration of his life. Tom was a long-time donor to the ACLU as well as The Vermont Food bank. Please considering donating to either of those worthy causes in lieu of flowers. Arrangements are under the direction of the Ducharme Funeral Home Inc. Online condolences at www.ducharmefuneralhome.com. SERVICES Memorial Service Friday, April 8, 2022 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Old Chapel, Castleton University Castleton, VT