Herrick Hayner Smith

Herrick Hayner Smith passed away peacefully on April 11, 2026 at his home in Saint Augustine, FL surrounded by loved ones.  Formerly of Gainesville, Herrick moved to St. Augustine in 2025 and lived next door to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who showered him with love and care.  This tribute to him was created by his loving family, friends, and colleagues.

 Herrick was born on October 26, 1930 in Troy, NY, to a Methodist minister father and Julliard-trained pianist mother.  Their family lived in several upstate small towns, following his father’s ministry locations.  In 1951, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served during the Korean conflict at Adak Station in the Aleutian Islands.  His father had served in the US Navy during WWI, and was a chaplain in the Pacific theater during WWII.  Herrick always honored his father and all those who served, and was sure to raise the American flag at home every 4th of July.  His favorite hymn was his father’s favorite hymn: “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.”

Herrick met Mary Hazel Phillips when they were posted to Washington, DC while working for the federal government.  They loved languages, puzzles, and clever jokes.  Their first date was a car rally in Herrick’s 1952 MG TD convertible. After getting married in Washington, DC, they moved to New York for Herrick to attend graduate school at Cornell University, where their daughter Marthanne was born.  Their next stop was graduate school at the University of Georgia, where their son H.A. was born.  They moved again for Herrick’s first teaching job at Oklahoma State University, where their daughter Jane was born.  After moving to Kansas State University for three years, the family moved to Gainesville in 1966 for Herrick to take up the Chair of Landscape Architecture at the University of Florida, a position he held until his retirement in 1995.

Herrick always considered his work a team effort with Mary.  Over the years, their family participated in many festive department and other university events.  They invited countless students to their house, and on holidays Mary insisted that any student with nowhere to go should join them.  They were invited in turn to student parties where they typically made a brief appearance before discretely bowing out early!  Some students even formed the department’s own band, The Swalers, who reunited to play a set at Herrick’s retirement party.  Herrick had great respect for his students and colleagues, many of whom became extended family and dear friends.

Herrick was a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and was very honored to receive that organization’s Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal in 2012.  He believed in the value of the field of landscape architecture, and particularly in the profoundly positive impact of green space on a community.  For several summers he taught at programs run by the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning:  The Preservation Institute Nantucket, and the summer institute in Vicenza, Italy.  After retiring in 1995, he was a member of the UF Athenaeum, and he and Mary led several independent garden tours in Europe.

Throughout his life, Herrick exhibited profound curiosity and an openness to explore new ideas.  Herrick and Mary joined Trinity United Methodist Church in 1966, raised their children in that church, and remained active members for many years.  The choir, the Dunkers, and other groups were very special parts of Herrick and Mary’s later years at Trinity and are very gratefully and fondly remembered by his family.  Herrick was an early proponent of bike lanes in Gainesville, and rode his bicycle to and from UF for years.  After retirement, Herrick picked up carving, a habit he had always enjoyed casually, and started to make beautiful small, personal pieces of wood and stone.  Many people have a manatee, Tomten, seal, turtle, otter, pelican, kangaroo, whale, dolphin, racoon, or other beloved creature carved by Herrick.  Some of his pieces were included in a show at the UF Harn Museum of Art with the express intention to allow visually impaired individuals to access or experience the show by handling his pieces.

Herrick was predeceased by Mary, his wife of 53 years.  He is survived by their three children:  Marthanne Bailey (late husband Mark), Herrick (H.A.) Smith (wife Debbie), and Jane Cheek (husband Marc); four grandchildren (Herrick and Luke Smith, Emma and Elizabeth Cheek); and four great-grandchildren (Herrick, Asher, Hazel and Fletcher Smith).

The date for a memorial service for Herrick is yet to be determined, but will be announced once it is set.