Frederick "Rick or Fred" Edward Smith III, age 74, of Casstown, Ohio passed away on June 10, 2024 at his residence.  He was born on September 2, 1949 in Dayton, Ohio to the late Frederick Edward Smith Jr. and Ruth Pauline (Oliver) Smith.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia "Patty" (Printz) Smith and 3 children: Frederick "Eric" Edward Smith IV, Christina Smith Fitzpatrick (spouse Ervin Dale Fitzpatrick II), and Nathaniel Smith.

Fred was a graduate of Vandalia-Butler High School (Class of 1967).  He earned his Bachelors in Business at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) and his Masters of Education from Urbana University (Urbana, Ohio).  He was previously a member of the Polk Grove United Church of Christ in Butler Township, Dayton, Ohio and First Presbyterian Church, Troy, Ohio.

Rick started his career working for Dayton Public Schools as a High School Mathematics Teacher from 1971-1975.  He taught all math classes including college prep.  From 1977-2004, Rick worked for the National Cash Register (NCR) in Dayton, Ohio as a System Analyst.  After he retired, he went back to substitute teaching across the Miami Valley area to any school that needed help until he was no longer physically able.

Rick was a devoted family man and loved being involved with his family.  He loved to play the organ just like his mother had taught him, and sang all the time throughout his day.  He enjoyed going to concerts and would wait to get artists' signatures after performances.  Rick was a talker.  He never met a stranger and would talk to anyone about many subjects.  He was a very intelligent person and good with remembering weird trivia or facts.  Rick was super competitive at card games and board games (The family jokes that he must have gotten this trait from his mother).  He loved playing Bridge (card games).  He would not let anyone just win a game - they had to learn how to win - no matter if it was Yahtzee Jr. with Mickey & Friends or a game of Acquire (stocks and bonds with hotel chains).  His joys and passions included many things such as: travel by trains, driving scenic roads or parkways by car, music, boating, his pets, genealogy (Ancestry), being up-to-date on current events and weather, 70s thunderbirds (classic cars and car shows), his children, vacationing on the Blue Ridge Mountains at his cabin in Fancy Gap, VA (that was bought on their honeymoon back in 1978), the stock market, jewelry, stamps, coins, classic TV shows/movies, watching sports, playing computer games such as Railroad Tycoon, and working on his favorite hobby model toy trains.

Rick's childhood love for American Flyer model toy trains was always in his life since he was a child with his first train set that his parents purchased for him.  In 1985, he created a local group within the Dayton area called the Miami Valley "S" Gaugers.  This group of train enthusiasts, like him, would get together once a month or more to work on their hobby and share their love of model toy trains with the community.  They eventually made together a 30 foot by 32 foot train layout.  They would take this double tracked model train S gauge layout to local events such as the yearly train shows held at Hara Arena or Christmas displays in Eaton, Ohio.  The group also hosted a "S" gauge model train convention in the Dayton area every three years with a specially made limited edition S gauge railcar.  Rick continued to be a very active member and president of the Miami Valley "S" Gaugers (MVSG) up until a serious car accident in 2018 and later complications with Covid in 2022.  Additionally, the family remembers that Rick would save up vacation time when working at NCR to take his family to the National Association of "S" Gaugers Annual Conventions. Rick always had his camcorder ready on those trips and couldn't wait to share the videos with his mother and father when he returned home.

Services will be held at 2:00 Pm, on Friday, June 14, 2024, at Baird Funeral Home in Troy, Ohio.  Interment will take place in Casstown Cemetery, Casstown, Ohio, next to his parents.  The family will receive friends prior to the service from 1:00 - 2:00 PM on Friday.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the family in care of Baird Funeral Home.  Friends may express condolences to the family through www.bairdfuneralhome.com.

The Family, c/o Baird Funeral Home
555 N. Market Street, Troy OH 45373