Tony Smith: ABM founder: 1942-2006.(Tony Smith)(Anchorage Chamber of Commerce)(In memoriam)

Former Anchorage resident J. Anthony (Tony) Smith, 64, of Steamboat Springs, CO, died Dec. 8 at the Doak Walker Care Center in Steamboat. He was born September 10, 1942, in Poughkeepsie, NY, to Eunice Hatfield and John C. Smith. A graduate of Cornell University, Tony served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam before returning to Cornell for law school. He moved to Alaska in 1971 where he practiced law for 25 years representing many of the Native corporations. Much of his practice was devoted to the Pribilof Islands, where he assisted the residents during passage of the Fur Seal Act Amendments in Congress, established the Pribilof Island Trust and guided legislative and regulatory efforts in the construction of the Saint Paul boat harbor.

Tony was appointed Alaska Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development in 1986. He was Vice Chairman of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, member of the Executive Committee of the Anchorage Organizing Committee for the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics, and co-founder of Alaska Business Monthly. In 1992, Tony won the primary election and was the Democratic candidate for the U. S. Senate.

Moving to Washington, D.C., in 1995, Tony was named partner in the law firm of Schmeltzer, Aptaker and Shepard where he established the public policy section and developed an international practice concentrating on trade issues while continuing his representation of various Alaska interests.

Tony was a member of the Cosmos Club and was a 32nd-degree Mason in Scottish Rite. He is survived by his wife, Carol; children, Jessica of Seattle, and, Michael of Steamboat Springs; and by his brother, Jim, of Hyde Park, NY.

Tony's longstanding association with Zamorano University began in 1963-1964 when he traveled to Honduras to evaluate the feasibility of initiating a course on Central American Common Market economics under the auspices of the Cornell in Honduras Project.

The family has requested that remembrances on his behalf be made to the Tony Smith Memorial Fund; established to commemorate Tony's long history of service and dedication to Zamorano University, a private, international, not-for-profit university based in Honduras and known throughout the Americas for its role in creating leaders and highly motivated, capable professionals, many of whom come from low-income, rural backgrounds.

Remembrances can be made to:

Zamorano EAP

9300 Lee Highway, Suite G-130

Fairfax, VA 22031

Note: (Tony Smith Memorial Fund)

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