 He was the state Superintendent of Standards and Purchases from 1935 until his death in Wilmington, New York, May 21, 1939.He was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Tonawanda, New York.Smith was married to Frances G. Stanton (1871-1931), who worked with him as a newspaper reporter and editor, and served as New York's Civil Service Commissioner from 1929 until her death.