Obituary of Donald Lewis Smith

Donald Lewis Smith, 80, of State College, died Wednesday, October 17, 2018, at Foxdale Village. Born June 10, 1938, in Philipsburg, he was the son of the late Claude E. and Marybelle M. McGovern Smith. For forty-two years, Don was with his husband, Merrill P. Budlong, who survives. They were able to marry in San Francisco in 2008. He is also survived by many cousins. Don grew up in Tyrone and was a 1956 graduate of Tyrone High School. He received a Bachelor's degree in Labor Relations Management in 1960 from Penn State University. After college, Don served in the Coast Guard Reserve. He worked for State Farm in Philadelphia and for Penn State at its University Park campus. In 1966, he moved to San Francisco, where he lived for thirty-nine years. He retired in 1991 as the wage and salary administrator for the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. During the 1970s, Don and his husband were active in the LGBT Civil Rights movement in San Francisco. They moved to State College in 2005, where they were frequent guest speakers at Penn State classes, talking about their civil rights experiences. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m., on Sunday, November 4, 2018 at the Foxdale Auditorium, 500 E. Marylyn Avenue, State College. Burial will be in Blair Memorial Park. Donations in Don's memory may be sent to the First English Lutheran Church, 17 W 13th St., Tyrone, PA 16686. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.