Born: January 30, 1945, Wheeling, West Virginia, United States
Died: February 25, 2025, Ephrata, Pennsylvania, United States
Identities: Gay
Pronouns: He/him
Occupations: Educator, Theater Director, Mentor, Community Builder

Overview
Richard F. Smith was a transformative gay educator whose career spanned over three decades in the Department of Defense Overseas Schools. He shaped the lives of thousands of students, introduced generations to the power of theater, and provided unwavering mentorship. His belief in the potential of every student became a guiding light for many, including future Academy Award winner Julianne Moore. Smith lived openly and lovingly with his partner and later husband, Lynn Barnes, showing his students that love, authenticity, and artistry could flourish in harmony. His life was filled with storytelling, world travel, and fierce devotion to his students. His legacy will continue to resonate through every life he touched.

Early Life and Education
Richard Floyd Smith was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, while his father was serving in the Battle of the Bulge. He grew up in a small home shared with his two sisters, in modest circumstances that sparked his curiosity and drive. As a child, he loved taking things apart and putting them back together, once even attempting to dismantle the fuse box. His upbringing, marked by resilience and creativity, laid the groundwork for his future as an educator and artist.

After graduating high school in 1962, Richard attended West Liberty University, majoring in English, speech, and theater. His passion for the stage flourished under mentor Stanley Harrison. He later earned a master’s degree in Organizational Communications from Ohio University in 1978. He began a PhD in Educational Theatre at New York University in London in 1986, though health issues kept him from completing the program.

Career and Impact
Smith began teaching in Newcomerstown, Ohio, before joining the Department of Defense school system where he taught for thirty-one years in Okinawa and Germany. His classrooms were centers of energy, passion, and safety for children of service members. Smith directed nearly one hundred plays, including four of his own, and was one of five founding members of the International Schools Theatre Association in 1981. The organization now includes over two hundred schools worldwide.

His philosophy, “Practice like you’ve never won; perform like you’ve never lost,” guided both his directing and his teaching. He often reminded students that excellence was expected, once quipping, “I don’t do Minnie-on-the-farm productions, and neither do all of you.” Students remembered his occasional habit of tossing a shoe at the stage if someone forgot to smile. His productions, filled with life and rigor, became major community events that united diverse student bodies and showcased their talent.

Mentorship and Student Legacy
Richard Smith’s influence did not end at the classroom door. He followed students across decades and continents, writing letters, offering advice, and cheering them on in their careers. He was a steady presence for many young people who lacked stability. He shaped voices, futures, and confidence in those who needed it most.

He mentored Julianne Moore at Frankfurt American High School. She credited him with changing her life, saying, “Acknowledgment from an adult can change a student’s life. Richard certainly changed mine.” Another former student recalled being coached through their first stage role. Another remembered being saved by Smith’s belief. His ability to see possibility in others long before they could see it themselves became his most enduring gift.

Personal Life and Travels
In 1972, Richard met Lynn Barnes in Okinawa. They shared forty-five years of love and partnership, traveling across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Together, they bathed in Japanese onsens, visited the Taj Mahal and the Valley of the Kings, and rode trains to Venice, Prague, and Paris. They eventually retired in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, where they frequently traveled to New York and Mexico.

When Pennsylvania legalized marriage equality, Richard and Lynn married in 2014. Lynn passed away from COVID-19 in 2020, a loss that Richard bore with courage and grace. He continued to engage with former students, express concern about LGBTQ rights under political threat, and speak out on the issues that mattered to him.

Final Reflections and Legacy
Richard wrote his own obituary, a poetic and humble chronicle of his journey. He reminded his loved ones that “life is not measured in the breaths we take, but in moments that take our breath away.” His ashes were laid to rest in Wheeling, West Virginia, the place where his story began.

He was a lifelong member of Aldersgate Methodist Church and an active member of educational and theater honor societies. He pursued genealogy with the same curiosity that marked his youth, tracing his lineage back to Edward Rawson of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Andrew Smith, who emigrated from Germany in 1752.

Richard F. Smith taught us how to live fully, how to love unapologetically, and how to make an entrance and an exit that mattered. His students now carry his flame forward.

In His Words

“When I go, don’t learn to live without me. Just learn to live with my love in a different way. And if you need to see me, close your eyes or look in your shadow when the sun shines. I’m there. Sit with me in the quiet and you will know that I did not leave. There is no leaving when a soul is blended with another. When I go, don’t learn to live without me. Just learn to look for me in the moments. I will be there.”
— Donna Ashworth, quoted by Richard F. Smith