Robert Trumbull Smith

RUTLAND – Robert Trumbull Smith, Jr. (Trumbull), 91 passed away September 18, 2023.  He was born in Minneapolis, MN on August 12, 1932, to Cecilia (Maloney) and Robert Trumbull Smith, Sr.  He graduated from Park Rose High School in Portland, OR where he played football, basketball and baseball. Trumbull enlisted in the Marine Reserves and served for 2 years in the Korean War in the service battalion and then married Diane Mahoney in 1954. He graduated from the University of Washington with a Master’s Degree in History and was a passionate and popular teacher of high school history at the Scarborough School in Shruboak, NY, the Woodstock Country School in South Woodstock, VT and the Cambridge School of Weston in Weston, MA.

Trumbull’s favorite quote was written by Rabelais about 500 years ago, “A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.”  He felt all of his thoughts on course curriculum and teaching styles were contained in this quote. During his 28 years teaching at the Cambridge School of Weston (CSW) he inspired countless students to love, or at the very least appreciate, history through his courses that examined communal living ventures across history at a time when hippies were moving into communes, were held at the JFK library in Boston, were a part of “Model UN” classes in Washington, D.C., or on a street corner in NYC where, in 1911, hundreds of young female garment workers died in a fire.  He made history come alive.  Students have described him as kind, funny, wise, and respectful. One student even thanked him for spending his own money ($5) to bail her and a friend out of jail when they streaked at a Red Sox game. Martha Gray, a fellow faculty member and friend at CSW, said at his retirement celebration, “Some people are born to be teachers and that enthusiasm and passion for their fields is infectious and priceless. They make the art of teaching seem easy.  It’s the most natural thing in the world if you are Trumbull…He embodies the tradition of great story tellers who transform our lives and our consciousness.”

When Trumbull retired in 1997, he and Diane relocated to Hillsborough, NC where he worked part time at the Chapel Hill Public Library fulfilling another long term dream to be a librarian. In 2015 Trumbull moved to The Gables in Rutland, VT and continued to enjoy reading the local paper and the NYT, all things non-fiction, watching political news and of course his Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots, and sharing meals with his many friends, especially his lunch bunch Betty, Bob and Jack. Trumbull inherited his mother’s impressive memory skills and enthusiastically shared historical facts, sports stats and enjoyed discussing past and current political events of the day.

He was predeceased by his wife Diane in 2004.  He leaves behind 2 daughters, Yda Smith (Thomas Gourley) of Salt Lake City, UT and Robin Ogg (Chip) of Chittenden, VT, a sister Janet Kowalski (Joseph) of Snohomish, WA and a brother George Smith (Alma) of Wosley Chapel, FL, 2 granddaughters, Christine Nelson (Joel) of Colchester, VT and Alexis Kobyakov (Paul) of Fort Collins, CO, and 4 great grandsons, Julian, Lev, Niko and Luca.

Donations in Trumbull’s memory can be made to Gables/Meadows Sunshine Funds, Gables Place, Rutland, VT 05701.

Arrangements are under the direction of Clifford Funeral Home.