David Smith Obituary

David Glenn Smith

May 18, 1947 -

July 20, 2025

David Glenn Smith filled his life with work in his beloved garden and work in the kitchen with his garden's produce, with raising new hens to provide enough eggs for baking his favorites, corn bread and biscuits, and with planning upcoming travel with his wife Janet until the last days of his life, when a sudden health crisis overstrained his heart and he left us unexpectedly on July 20, 2025.

David was born to Elmer Glenn Smith and Nancy Elizabeth Roberts on May 18, 1947 in Harriman Tennessee. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved the family to the much larger city of Kingsport, where he lived until graduating from high school and moved on to the University of Kentucky to study Anthropology, with (at first) a primary interest in archaeology. His love of digging things up took him to projects in the Mammoth Caves and later to a summer dig in the Grand Canyon; but in the end, he found himself more interested in the remains of the humans associated with the artifacts than in the artifacts themselves and his path turned toward biological, specifically molecular anthropology and the arc of his future academic career began to take shape. His family life began to take shape as well; while at University of Kentucky, he met and married Bonnie Lee Kahl and after David's graduation in 1969, they set out for the University of Colorado in Boulder CO, where David completed his Anthropology M.A. in 1970 and his Ph.D in 1973. That year he also traveled to Honolulu to the East-West Population Institute where he completed a Certificate in Population Studies and, along the way, developed a life-long love of mangos and Hawaiian-style malasadas. Now Dr. Smith, David next set off for a postdoctoral stint in the Department of Human Genetics in the University of Michigan Medical School and later as a research associate at the Institute for Cancer Research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia before arriving in Davis in 1977 to take up what would be his final position as an Assistant/Associate/Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis, a position he held until his retirement in 2015.

Professor David Glenn Smith was a foundational figure in the study of primate genetics and in establishing ancient DNA research as a field in North America. For primate genetics, his work helped us better understand the genetic history of monkeys and other primates, how their genes affect health, and how they've evolved. He was one of the first scientists to use advanced DNA sequencing tools to study genetic differences in both wild and captive monkeys. His studies of different species of monkeys provided key insights for selecting animals in disease research, especially for HIV and other infectious and non-infectious illnesses. He also helped set up genetic testing and colony management protocols used in major primate research centers to ensure healthy and diverse populations. He was known for his scientific rigor, forward-thinking approach, and deep respect for the animals he studied. His work continues to influence primate research and biomedical science worldwide.

He was also one of the first researchers to develop scientific methods to study ancient DNA from skeletal remains to learn about the peopling of the Americas. Ahead of his time, he combined DNA analysis with other forms of knowledge from archaeology and language to learn about past migrations, reconstruct the lives of ancient peoples, and identify cultural innovations. His legacy endures through the students who trained in his laboratory-many of whom now lead the field at universities nationwide and apply his methods to advance molecular anthropology and forensic investigations. The importance and impact of his work was recognized by his 2010 election as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

But there was more to David than his career. He himself often said that he might have been happy going into horticulture. In 1990 he and his second wife Janet moved with daughter Flannery, Janet's son Reizo, and occasionally her daughter Erica just outside of Davis to a 2-acre property for the primary purpose of giving him enough scope to garden. This he did, with gusto. He planted fruit trees and organized a huge vegetable garden. The family still reaps the fruits (and vegetables) of his labor today. He also undertook to raise lambs for the dinner table and to have a flock of chickens for year-round eggs. Over the years, the pasture full of lambs gave way to a bank of solar panels, but the chickens remained and new chicks were added just weeks before his death.

David loved music, especially classic country music, bluegrass and – as a native Appalachian – roots music. He and Janet endowed a first-generation scholarship to East Tennessee State University and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the folks in the university's outstanding Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music program in the Department of Appalachian Studies. After retiring he also enjoyed sitting in his study at home playing his guitar and re-learning how to play the harmonica.

And then there was football. Growing up in SEC territory, he naturally followed college football as avidly as he did professional football. Outside of football season, there was always basketball and, in later years, sumo wrestling. This was an outgrowth of all the time he spent with Janet in Japan, where her research was focused, and it was the sport they most went to see in person. One of David's favorite parts of visiting a sumo tournament in person was sneaking food snacks in to munch on while watching.

Which brings us to David's love of travel, in which he and Janet were able to indulge even before retirement by the means of locating professional conferences in places they wanted to visit. Their academic specializations were different and so were the most common conference venues; this led them to various places in Europe and Asia that became some of their favorite destinations. Retirement took them to some new places, but throughout, David was the planner and the trips were always wonderful. And usually involved very carefully constructed plans for the food to sample.

He was always thin and always loved to eat. He particularly loved barbecue, biscuits and gravy, and anything sweet, but picked up a vast array of other foods such as pickled herring, grilled eel, sukiyaki, Janet's mom's short ribs, and the Taka Shibamoto Ginger Chicken (recipe entrusted to David by Taka Shibamoto himself). He loved great Kentucky bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey, and fine wine, along with occasional detours for a good shochu or a super-hoppy IPA. David was the family cook. And he loved to feed people. This was a core part of his sense of hospitality, a defining feature of his way of being in the world.

From childhood, David held family close and dear, and his visits to distant relatives – mother, sister, cousins – were precious to him all his life. He and his first wife Bonnie were thrilled to welcome daughter Flannery in 1977, shortly after their arrival in Davis, and he was often seen on campus with her in his arms, then later at his side as they went off to explore his lab or go to the pond to feed the ducks. He was equally caring for the children of his second family, stepson Reizo Shibamoto and stepdaughter Erica Zizak. All three of "his" children point to his open-hearted hospitality, his kindness, and his reliability in being there to help out when help was needed without blame and without expecting anything in return. Notably, it was clear that he wasn't looking for parental credit, he was just a genuinely good guy who cared about the people in his life, and his concept of family was unfailingly inclusive. David also had a knack for making the most everyday things fun to do together, possibly because he enjoyed doing things together with family, Takayuki Shibamoto (Tomoko) his stepchildren's father and his co-parenting honorary family, friends and colleagues. These same sentiments are echoed in words from his extended family, friends and colleagues; he was a loving father and husband, a kind and caring man with an innate generosity of spirit that led him always to quietly and reliably show up for people who needed him with a welcoming and supportive smile, good advice, and a helping hand.

David was predeceased by his parents, Nancy and Glenn Smith, his first wife Bonnie Kahl Smith, and by step-grandson Taylor Zizak. He is survived by wife Janet Shibamoto-Smith, daughter Flannery Hawkins (Larry), stepchildren Reizo Shibamoto and Erica Zizak (John), grandchildren Bonnie and Rhiannon Hawkins, step-grandchildren Maximus and Suki Zizak, and a wide circle of friends, former students, and colleagues who mourn his loss. May he rest in peace knowing his spirit and taste for quality red wine live on in each glass we raise.