FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Pete Modreski]

Dear Forum members,

I wanted to share a sad note that longtime U.S. collector and mineral enthusiast Arthur E. Smith, Jr., of Houston, Texas, died on November 12. Art was a wonderful fellow and a friend to many; he wrote many articles about minerals and microminerals, especially in Arkansas, Texas, and nearby states, and was the author of a number of the U.S. state mineral locality indices published over the years in Rocks & Minerals magazine. Artsmithite, a mercury aluminum phosphate hydroxide, was named after him in 2003. Those of us who knew Art will miss him very much.

Pete Modreski

[Gail]

I am going to announce his passing at the M.A.D. meeting on Saturday.

[Jordi Fabre]

An small image from Arth Smith that I found in Rock & Minerals.

[Ed Huskinson]

Awww. Art was a wonderful guy, a gracious host, and an enthusiastic mineralogist. I remember visiting him in 1979 or 1980, admiring his collection, and thoroughly enjoying myself. Talk about loving his minerals!! Part of his collection was housed in display cabinets in his bedroom, right alongside the bed.

He will be sorely missed.

Ed

[mmauthner]

Yes, I've known a couple of weeks that this was coming and unfortunately could not make it to Houston. Art was a true gentleman; very open to visitors and enthusiastically shared his collection.
Meeting and getting to know Art was one of the highlights of my time spent in Houston...in fact, it was I who took the photo that Jordi posted and here is the original to see better.
I, along with many others, shall miss him.

Mark

[Antonio Alcaide]

A collection and its collector need each other. On one hand, the crystals, Nature, random and Chemistry. On the other hand, the man who put them together, who gave his look, his hands, who showed them to his friends. That man is no longer.

"I, who have arrived late in so many lives..." a spanish poem says. Those who didn't know him feel like this.

For a moment, perhaps for a few days, the gems will shine less, the twins will lose something of its symmetry, the lattices will lose something of its accuracy.

Receive, Arthur, these words from a stranger. "Va por ti"

[Peter Megaw]

Sad news indeed, not lessened by knowing it was coming for some time. Art was a great collector, author and friend. His huge orders of Mexican micros kept me eating through grad school and when I last saw him at the Houston Show in May he was still placing orders for more!!!

I know Art had several massive research projects under long-term development...I hope someone can pick up the threads on these and finish them off. If someone is in contact with his widow, please let her know there are folks interested in doing so...myself included