Dr. Fred & Judy Smith

Fred grew up in Richmond, the 5th of 7 children.  He graduated from VMI in 1967 as a distinguished graduate with a major in chemistry.  He was able to postpone his military commitment in order to attend UNC for his master’s degree.  Four days after arriving on campus, he heard that there was a freshman mixer with free food.  As a graduate student, he was poor and unfortunately didn’t have a ticket.

Judy grew up in Danville and began her college years at UNCG in September 1967.  She was one of 23 bus loads of freshmen taken to UNC to attend the freshman mixer.  She had a ticket!  Fred thought Judy was cute and he could get a free meal if he went with her to the picnic.  That free meal was 55 years ago, and they have been together ever since.

Fred received his MS degree in organic and biochemistry.  He then entered the USAF for his four-year commitment.  Judy was a Latin major with minors in English and library science.  She transferred to University of Dayton in 1970 when they were married.

They happily returned to VA in 1973 when Fred entered dental school at MCV.  Judy was teaching Latin & English in Chesterfield County.  They realized how fortunate they were to have each summer off together and began their love of camping by spending their summers traveling in their little camper across the US. 

Once Fred completed dental school, they selected Lynchburg as the perfect place to live.  He practiced dentistry in the Timberlake area for 37 years and Judy taught Latin & English in Campbell County for over 20 years. They continued to camp often though the size of the camper grew as their family did. They have 3 children, Brian, Karen, & David, and 4 adorable grandchildren with another one arriving early next year.  They are fortunate that all their children live in VA.

Fred loves biking, gardening, hiking, reading fiction and medical literature, and driving.  Judy loves talking, knitting, reading, and planning trips. They have always been involved in church and enjoy singing in the choir.  They both love snow, mountains, and skiing but they haven’t been in a few years.  Their travels have taken them to all 50 states, most of the Canadian provinces, and 4 continents.  They continue to spend almost 6 months each year traveling in their motorcoach throughout the US and Canada.