In Memoriam Gerald C. Smith

Gerald (Jerry) C. Smith Headshot It is with our deepest sorrow that we announce our colleague and friend, Gerald “Jerry” Smith, passed away on March 30, 2023 at the age of 82.

After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Jerry joined legacy firm, Fitzgerald, Abbott and Beardsley, where he became partner and focused his practice on Business and Corporate and Real Estate matters.

Despite being one of the busiest lawyers in the office, he
always made time to assist staff and attorneys and livened up the office with his kind and generous spirit and great sense of humor. He was known as a legend by those who worked with him for his incredible work ethic and his heart for teaching young lawyers.

One partner who was mentored by Jerry recalls sitting side-by-side as an associate with him in a conference room, taking a red pen to work she’d done for him and explaining why he was making every single edit. She stated, “it was an exceptional learning experience.”

His generosity and sense of humor was also seen during firm events as a colleague remembers when Jerry took her to her first baseball game as a summer associate in 1999. They got to the park, went straight to the restaurant inside the Coliseum, and ate calamari and drank wine until the 7th inning when they finally made their way to their seats. For a brief time after that, she thought maybe that was a normal baseball experience.

His legacy extended outside the firm as he was esteemed by his professional peers in Alameda County for working on many notable litigation and transactional matters. Jerry was respected by all who worked with him, whether he was their attorney or the attorney for the opposition. Jerry will be deeply missed by all who knew him, and we are grateful for everything we learned from him as a leader, partner, mentor, and friend.

Jerry is survived by sons Timothy (Elizabeth), Christopher (Kristina), four grandsons, Kevin (Hannah), Jake, Jordan and Blake as well as siblings Joseph (Janet), Judy (Merle), James (Kathy), and four nieces, a nephew and their children.

Jerry’s funeral Mass will take place at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church Reno on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 10:30 am with the Celebration of Life to follow at the ArrowCreek Country Club. For more on Jerry’s legacy, his obituary is available here.