Brant Edward Smith
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Brant's obituary
On February 13, 2024, Brant Smith, a loving husband, father, son, brother, nephew,
cousin, and friend passed away at the age of 69, following a 12-year journey with
frontotemporal dementia, FTD. Born in Port Arthur, Texas to Paige and Luther Smith,
Brant and his three brothers spent their youth moving across the South before settling in
Richmond, VA. He earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental science at the
University of Virginia in 1979, where he met his wife of 41 years, Karen Lovegren.
Brant worked as a systems analyst in Internal Research and Development for 28 years
in the greater D.C. area on military and environment projects for a government
contractor. Escaping the hectic pace of Northern Virginia, Brant and Karen relocated
their family of five to Charlottesville, the town of his beloved alma mater, in 1997.
In addition to his professional work, Brant was a self-appointed builder. He learned
construction skills during the summers and between college years working for various
contractors. Using these skills, he helped his brothers and parents build a vacation
home in Ocean Pines, MD. After Brant learned AutoCAD, he designed and built his
family’s first house with the assistance of his brothers, father, and brother-in-law in
Great Falls, VA. The design incorporated the 100-year-old log cabin that was behind
the drywall into the final structure rather than tearing it down. Brant also helped design
and build his parent’s dream retirement home on the Chesapeake Bay. He was
generous with his expertise and his time by volunteering in the community through
Habitat for Humanity, his sons’ local Boy Scout troop, Shrine Mont, and St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church of Ivy, where he was a Vestry Member for several years.
Brant had a love for the epicurean side of life. He was a chef extraordinaire and loved a
good glass of wine until the end of his life. Brant took on meal preparation for his family
that ran the gamut of style and technique. It was a lifelong passion and he honed his
skills by attending classes at the Culinary Institute of America and participating in Men
Who Cook in Charlottesville. He dreamed of opening a chocolate shop before falling ill.
Music of all kinds provided him great comfort and a continuous, melodic stream could
be heard emanating from his office. He enjoyed dancing and could be seen frequently
boogieing at Fridays After Five on the Downtown Mall. Time spent outdoors on the ski
slopes of the Rockies, hiking and camping in the Blue Ridge, and many summer
vacations at the beach with his family filled his cup.
Brant was reticent in nature, but once he opened up his fierce intelligence, humor,
curiosity, and integrity shone through to all those he was close with. He is survived by
his wife, Karen, and their children, Jim, Katie, and Will; father, Luther (Paige preceded
him in death); brothers, Mike (Teresa), Mark (Julia), Blair (Molly); Uncle David (Vivian);
and many in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins. A service will be held February 24th ,
2pm at St. Paul’s Ivy. A Celebration of Life Memorial will be open to friends and family
on his 70th birthday June, 6th . In lieu of flowers the family asks that a donation be made
to:
The Brain Network- https://braindonorproject.org…
AFTD- https://www.theaftd.org/get-i…
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Ivy VA- https://stpaulsivy.org/give/g…
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