Hilton Head’s first town manager dies at 77
Hilton Head Island’s first town manager, Carey Smith, died on July 5. He was 77.
Smith was the town manager from 1983, when the town was first incorporated, until 1988. He initiated many town programs that are still in place today, according to current Town Manager Steve Riley.
After his service on Hilton Head, Smith took his career to Florida, where he was the city manager in Tarpon Springs and Daytona Beach. He returned to South Carolina in 2002 to become the city manager in Rock Hill.
Riley, who reflected in an email to staff that he shared with The Island Packet, said he met Smith around the time Smith moved back to South Carolina. Riley said Smith shared stories about Hilton Head’s early days and his close friendship with the island’s first mayor, Ben Racusin, who died in 2013.
After he retired in 2010, Smith filled in as town manager for municipalities while they hired new people for the job. He did so twice in Hardeeville, Riley said.
Smith worked in local government for 40 years, creating friendships throughout the Southeast.
He enjoyed tennis, fishing, reading, beach walks and dancing the shag. He was an active member in church as a deacon and choir member throughout his life and most recently was a member of Duncan United Methodist in Georgetown, S.C., according to his obituary.
Smith is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joan Byars Smith. They were married at Fulton Presbyterian Church on Feb. 5, 1966. He is also survived by his sons Carey Smith II and C. Scott Smith (Robin); brother, Dr. James Ronald Smith; many loving nieces and nephews; brother and sisters-in-law; and a special mother-in-law, Katherine Byars. He loved and adored their four grandchildren, Slater Jay Smith of Lubbock, Texas; Caleb Wade Smith, Ruby Julia Smith and Michael Scott Smith of Birmingham.
Butch McCormick, a friend of Smith’s in Daytona Beach, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal that “Carey Smith was absolutely just a saint. ...He was just one of the best guys that anyone could possibly know.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 12:55 PM.
