Page 26 - WNS 2022 Program Book-Final version

Flo, as she is affectionately known throughout the many Societies she
attends with Randy, is an equal partner and institution in her own right.
Her unrelenting support and voluntary work for the WNS is legendary.
More importantly, Flo and Randy have been the friendly faces for each
generation of new members admitted to this society. They have a
knack for genuinely welcoming newcomer and connecting with old
friends. You can literally pick up a conversation where you left off from
the last meeting a year ago.
th
Randall William Smith was born on October 29 , 1938, in Minneapolis,
MN. Together with his two younger twin siblings, Jack “Rod” and Jill,
he did most of his growing up and education in Seattle, including med-
ical school at the University of Washington, where he graduated in
1965. Most significantly, he met the love and rock of his life, Florence,
who was a nurse and trainer at the University of Washington and they
married in 1962. After a brief stint as an intern in Boston, they returned
to their true love of the West coast. Through the GI bill and the hard
work of RN Florence, Randy was able to fund his neurosurgical train-
ing at the University of Washington under the aegis of Dr. Arthur
Ward, one of the 29 founding members of the WNS. From 1965-1971,
he and Flo served in the US Air Force reservist and were stationed at
Osan Airbase in South Korea. Randy would often recount how he was
out-ranked by his wife, both in the military and at home.
With the support of the VA, the Smiths were able to set up their first of
several homes in San Diego, where they have lived since 1971. These
were seminal times for Randy and Flo. They had three children, Ste-
phen, Christine and Michael. Even though the children did not get to
see their father much, they felt his love and support throughout their
childhood. Randy was a talented carpenter and craftsman. He creat-
ed complex wooden playstructures and often involved the children in
the family avocado farm in Escondido, CA. Rides on the family Ferrari
(tractor) was a favorite past-time. His absence was compensated by
the constant care and love of their mother, Flo.
It was not long before Randy made a huge mark in neurosurgery in
San Diego. Together with Drs. Alksne, Greenhoot and Ward, Randy
set up the UCSD neurosurgery program, which now has a flourishing
program. He was voted as favorite teacher every year by students and
received standing ovations following his lectures and anatomical dis-
sections, when lecturers were still treated as stars after a particularly
brilliant performance. He mentored countless students, who went on to
become chairs at other departments, not only in neurosurgery but neu-
rology. He often attended neurological meetings. Not only was he a
founding member of the San Diego Neurological Society (SDNS), he
was also President of the Federation of Western Neuroscience Socie-
ties that gathered many neuroscientists and neurologists.
He had long been involved with the San Diego Academy of Neurologi-
cal Surgeons (SDANS), rising to become its President. Perhaps one of
his proudest moments was to work with his daughter, Dr. Christine
Smith, then President of the SDNS, to amalgamate the SDNS and
SDANA into the San Diego Neurosciences Society. They both served
on the inaugural executive committee, offering Christine a unique op-
portunity to witness his father’s legendary sharp and no-fools-tolerated
style of committee work.
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