Steve Smith made it a point to go outside the boundaries of the Topsail Island town he served for nearly a decade to educate himself on coastal issues up and down the North Carolina seaboard.
“He was all the time keeping up with information as it became available at all different levels — state, federal, local,” said North Topsail Beach Mayor Pro Tem Mike Benson on Monday. “He was always doing his homework and had his background figured out before he brought issues forward. So, most of the time he was right. He also knew things that were going on in Virginia and South Carolina and how some of their policies might be good here.”
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Smith, who was serving his second mayoral term in Topsail Beach, died “peacefully” Friday, according to a town news release. He was 73.
His death, “leaves a huge void in the Town of Topsail Beach,” the release states. “His leadership, wisdom, and compassion will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
Topsail Beach Mayor Pro Tem Morton Blanchard said Smith was a “consummate mayor.”
“He was a better politician than I’ll ever be. He knew how to get to the legislators and get this little town money,” Blanchard said in a telephone interview Monday afternoon. “Through our time together I’ve been upset with him a few times, but he always managed to stay calmer than me. He was a good friend. Personally, he loved this beach as much as anybody.”
A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Smith’s childhood was that of a typical military brat, moving from duty station to duty station.
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The family’s final post was Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, where Smith left as a high school graduate for the halls of East Carolina University, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1973.
More than 40 years later in 2016, his alma mater honored him with its Outstanding Alumni Award, one of the most prestigious awarded by the university and that recognizes alumni for “outstanding and uncommon achievement in one’s profession, civic affairs and/or politics.”
Smith’s career in business and industry in the United States, Southeast Asia and Africa spanned nearly four decades.
He retired in 2011, moving with his wife, Edna, to their home in Topsail Beach.
It would become evident Smith had no intentions of living a life of complete leisure once the couple settled as permanent residents in the small Pender County beach town.
He was first elected to the town’s board of commissioners in 2015, holding that position for four years before running for and winning the mayor’s seat in 2019 and again in 2023.
He would come to serve on countless boards and committees, “a visionary leader who had a passion for serving his community,” according to the town release. “His commitment to preserving the town’s unique character and natural beauty was evident in his many accomplishments over the years.”
During his time in office, he chaired the Topsail Island Shoreline Protection Commission, or TISPC, and, in 2019, served on the North Carolina Beach, Inlet and Waterway Association’s Board of Directors.
Smith was known for his calm, easy disposition. It wasn’t uncommon to spot him sitting in the audience at quarterly North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission meetings, the locations of which rotate among the north, central and southern areas of the coast.
Benson, a fellow member of the TISPC, somberly recalled in a telephone interview Monday morning the man he considered to be a friend.
“Steve had such a positive outlook on life,” he said. “He would call you and say, ‘how are you today?’”
Kerri Allen, coastal management program director and coastal advocate with the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wrightsville Beach office, said that Smith was kind, dedicated, “and always willing to think outside the box and try innovative solutions when it came to coastal resiliency.”
“He genuinely cared about his community and always put them above any personal or political agenda,” she responded to Coastal Review in an email Monday. “He was a true leader, and had a way of making anyone and everyone feel welcome and valued. His passing leaves such a void in the Topsail community.”
Benson highlighted a number of contributions Smith made over the years, including leading the TISPC in support of state funding for beach nourishment projects on Topsail Island and Coastal Barrier Resources Act-related issues, supporting the North Carolina Marine Debris Action Plan, helping secure funding approval for Surf City’s proposed federal coastal storm risk management project, and, more recently, leading local efforts in conjunction with the Coastal Federation up to the state level in support of a ban on abandoned vessels in coastal waters.
In addition to his wife, Smith is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and a brother.
A service is scheduled for noon Thursday at Emma Anderson Memorial Chapel in Topsail Beach with a reception to follow at the town Assembly Building.
Blanchard said the town board is expected to meet next week to select a mayor. A date and time for that meeting is to be determined.
“We’ve got a good team down here,” Blanchard said. “I don’t think we’ll miss a lick. Whoever gets [mayorship], it’ll be daggone hard to fill his shoes.”
