Girard Fitzgerald Smith, who was both a devoted father, grandfather, and great-grandfather and a much-honored Truro resident, died on Nov. 19, 2024 at Cape Cod Hospital. He was 94.

Girard was born in Newark, N.J. on April 23, 1930 to Marie Fitzgerald Stephens and Markham Smith. He graduated in 1948 from Newark Academy, where he played baseball, football, and basketball. He earned a degree in business from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. in 1952.

Girard was drafted into the Army toward the end of the Korean War and served mostly in Oklahoma. Upon his discharge, he began his business career with the office supply company Gregory, Mayer, and Thom in Detroit. He met Shirley L. Smith there, and they married in 1957.

During his Detroit years, he and Shirley had four children, and he rose to president of the company. Having been a high school athlete, he coached many of his children’s teams, and his community involvement included membership in the Detroit Economic Club, the Detroit Boat Club, and the Gowanie Gold Club.

Girard became an avid runner in the 1970s, before running shoes were a thing; he ran the Detroit Free Press Marathon in the late ’70s, and he made many friends with whom he ran in Belle Isle, Detroit, and Grosse Pointe, where he lived. He was known for running whenever he could, often from his office through the city to his Grosse Pointe home.

In 1983, Girard took a job with Schiffenhaus Packaging, a corrugated box company headquartered in Paterson, N.J. The owners of the company, Anton and Larry Schiffenhaus, were close to the painter Edward Hopper and his family and inherited Hopper’s Truro house after he died. Girard’s mother and grandfather had built a house in 1937 on Stephens Way, the same road where the Hopper house was. Girard’s new job drew him closer to his old family home.

Girard and Shirley divorced in 1988, and in 1996 he retired from Schiffenhaus and moved to Truro. Four years later, the house was sold, and Girard found an apartment, continued his summer work as a docent at Highland Light, and gave impromptu tours of the Hopper house and landscape to new acquaintances who learned of his connection to the place.

An avid sports fan and community volunteer, Girard was known for his funny banter and infectious laughter. He devoted himself to service to the town. He was the treasurer of the Friends of the Truro COA, head of the board of the Highland Light, a board member of Sight Loss Services, and a founder of the Truro Summer Concert Series. In honor of his years of service, he was named Truro Senior Citizen of the Year and designated in a display at Highland Light as a Truro Living Legend in 2018.

Girard is survived by three children: Kathryn Smith of Brewster, Jefferey and wife Lisa of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., and Michael of Milton; four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and his former wife, Shirley L. Smith of Chatham.

He was predeceased by his son Anthony.

A memorial service is being planned for the summer of 2025.

Donations in Girard’s honor may be made to the Truro Council on Aging or Independence House in Hyannis.