Martyn Richard Smith

Houghton

Martyn R. Smith, 78, a resident of Houghton and former Michigan Technological University Professor, Department Head, and Dean of the Graduate School, died at home on June 27, 2023 after a long struggle with dementia. 

Marty received his B.A. in mathematics from Montclair State University and his M.Phil. and Ph.D. in biostatistics from Yale University. After four years in the Behavioral Sciences and Community Health Division at the University of Connecticut Farmington’s School of Dental Medicine, in 1979 he joined Michigan Tech’s Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, later serving as Department Head and subsequently as Department Head and Interim Head, respectively.  At Michigan Tech Marty pursued research and taught courses in statistics and biostatistics. Marty brought a sense of playful discovery to the classroom, getting to know his students as individuals and challenging them and himself to explore concepts in fun, unconventional ways.  As a department head, Marty was respected for his commitment to transparency, fairness, and equity. He worked, as one colleague put it, “for the good and the better.”

In 1989 Marty accepted an appointment as Professor in the Mathematics and Statistics Department at Winona State University, where he was Director of the Center for Applied Statistics and Process Improvement and pioneered many distance learning courses. He was also a consultant for Proctor and Gamble, Colgate, IBM, and the American Dental Association. From 1996 to 2005 Marty held a concurrent faculty appointment at the Mayo Clinic School of Health-Related Sciences in Rochester, where he taught epidemiology and other courses to nursing and nurse anesthetist students, of whom he was particularly proud.  

In 2005 Marty returned to Michigan Tech where he was appointed Dean of the Graduate School, Director of Distance Learning and Summer School, and Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Marty especially enjoyed working with and mentoring biomedical engineering and mathematics undergraduate and graduate students, serving on many senior project, Master’s, and Ph.D. committees up to and after his retirement in 2015.

Marty’s quick wit, unbridled enthusiasm for “mischief,” and kind heart gave him a talent for bringing people together. Marty loved music and was a lifelong sailor at home on the water.  A hiker, cyclist, cross-country skier, and fisherman, he cared more about sharing moments with friends than catching fish. His passion for adventure took him to many areas of the world, including Australia, Greece, Turkey, the Netherlands, St. Kitts, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and South Africa. In 2016 he spent five memorable weeks walking the Camino de Santiago through southwestern France and northern Spain. Marty’s greatest joy was time spent with family, friends, and dogs in the water and on the beach at family camps on Little Traverse Bay. 

Marty was predeceased by his beloved father, William A. Smith. He will be lovingly remembered and deeply missed by his wife, Diane Shoos of Houghton; his daughters Loryn Smith (Michelle) of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Karyn Smith (Ethan) of Bend, Oregon; and Anna Shoos of Monroe, Michigan; his three grandchildren, Harper, Paxton, and Chase Ebersold of Bend, Oregon; his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law; many nieces, nephews, and cousins; and his dog Isla.

Especially during the last year of his illness, Marty and his family received compassionate care and support from the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Portage Hospice, Dr. Terry Kinzel, and many devoted friends.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the North Country Trail Association, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, and the Copper Country Humane Society.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 26 at 1:00 p.m. in the Michigan Tech Rozsa Center lobby.