Peter H. Smith

Mr. Peter Howard Smith of Fairfield, Connecticut passed away peacefully on August 7th, 2021, at the age of 76.  He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Carol Smith (nee Canwell), son P.J. Smith and his wife Marni (nee Jurman), daughter Claire Lynch and her husband Adrian, his four adoring grandchildren: Harry (8), Leah (4), Ellie (3), and Patrick (1.5), his sister Judith Porter, and numerous nieces, nephews, and godchildren.

Born and raised in England, Peter lived a wonderful and fulfilling life. Growing up in Yorkshire, he was a talented athlete and pianist and while still a teenager met the love of his life, Carol, who happened to be the younger sister of one of Peter’s good friends.

At 16, Peter had his first taste of America, spending a year in Pennsylvania as an exchange student at Swarthmore High School. They immediately put his love of soccer to good use as placekicker on the school’s football team. Following his year abroad, Peter returned to England to focus on another great passion, music, and ultimately graduated from The University of North Wales, Bangor, with a Bachelor of Music.

Upon graduation Peter worked briefly at J. Walter Thompson in London prior to embarking, in 1971 as employee no. 5, on a 50-year career at International Management Group (IMG), now part of Endeavour. During his early days as a sports agent, Peter and Carol lived in Cleveland, Ohio where IMG was headquartered. He was then transferred to Toronto, Ontario where his children were born, before returning to America in 1985. Working in New York City, Peter and his family settled in Connecticut, first Westport and then Fairfield.  If he wasn’t playing golf with his family at Brooklawn Country Club, you could find him at home with steaks on the BBQ, voraciously reading the newest thriller and spy novels, or most likely playing piano.

Peter was getting ready to celebrate 50 years with IMG, and until the end remained uniquely passionate about his job. Early on, IMG Founder Mark McCormack told Peter to “get on a plane and never come home”, and although that was said tongue in cheek, he did travel the globe many times over.  After initially representing individual and team sport athletes and other celebrities and entertainers, his clients transitioned to include The Masters, Wimbledon, the R&A, PGA of America, LPGA, USGA, NCAA, NFL, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, the USTA, and many other sports leagues, tours, and global organizations.

Peter was bright, witty, charming, a great cook, and quick with a joke.  Over the years he spent a considerable amount of time with some of the world’s most famous celebrities who were both clients and friends, but at the end of the day it wasn’t hard to notice that the happiest days of his life and most cherished role was that of Grandpa. Peter will be loved, remembered, and missed by family, friends, and colleagues alike – and certainly never forgotten.

A celebration of Peter's life will be held at Brooklawn Country Club, 500 Algonquin Road, Fairfield, Thursday, September 2, 2021, from 4:00p.m. to 6:00p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Peter’s name in support of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. http://giving.mskcc.org. To send condolences visit www.redgatehennessy.com