By Kathy Cramer
Managing Editor
There are many retired Naval officers in Ponte Vedra Beach but, when people referr to "The Admiral," it is most likely that they mean Rear Admiral William Renwick Smedberg IV, who died this past Tuesday.
Friends described Smedberg this week as a "cutthroat competitor and delightful player" on the golf course, "the grandfather supreme," a "man of terrific courage" and "an inspiration to anyone who loved Ponte Vedra."
Another retired admiral, Joe Moorer, said he had known Smedberg slightly in the service, as "a fine officer with a great reputation," but got to know him better as a fellow golfer—"a terrific competitor, physically and mentally."
That mental strength was also evident in Smedberg’s lengthy battle with ALS. "The way he withstood this terrible disease was incredible," Moore said.
Al Cash, who played in a weekly foursome with Smedberg, said their Friday morning rounds "were the highlight of my week."
Ed Waller also played golf with Smedberg, in a group dubbed the Dew Sweepers, that had the first tee time every Saturday morning.
"He was so enjoyable to play with, very competitive," Waller said, "and hard to beat" at the end of a round. But Smedberg also made his mark off the course in a number of ways.
"His kids never worried if he’d be there for their games," Cash said of Smedberg’s grandchildren. "He traveled when they played soccer, he picked them up at the school bus, he was at their beck and call."
That concern, not only for his children, but also for all children in the area, led Smedberg to become involved in several community initiatives. In the 1990s he favored incorporation for Ponte Vedra and, in recent years, he worked to secure land for a high school in Ponte Vedra.
Casey Rumsey, a fellow member of the committee seeking a high school site in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area, recalled that there was "nobody with more energy, especially for this issue."
Rumsey said that, after Smedberg convinced then-Gov. Jeb Bush to send a group of state officials to tour the proposed site with committee members, they all met at a locked gate.
Undaunted by the obstacle, the octogenarian Smedberg "scaled the fence, while the rest of us, half his age, stood there trying to figure out what to do," according to Rumsey.
Smedberg would not take no for an answer, either in the field or at his desk, Rumsey said. He noted that, even after Smedberg lost the use of his right hand, he "pecked out with his left hand eloquent e-mails." He was a prolific writer of letters to the editor, particularly to the Recorder.
"He probably ruffled some feathers," Rumsey concluded, "but no one in the community the the interest of the kids more at heart. I’ll miss him."
A celebration of Smedberg’s life will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 12, in Christ Episcopal Church. The complete obituary appears in the July 11 edition of the Ponte Vedra Recorder.
