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Letter to the editor

Caring and loyal friend, fierce competitor

By Stephanie Hayes, Times Staff Writer
Published February 23, 2008

CLEARWATER - Andrew Smith's family and friends watched the change happen. Glasses gave way to contacts. His skin cleared. He lost weight and sprouted tall.

The awkward boy became a handsome, popular athlete with eyes one shade darker than the afternoon sky.

He had one foot in the adult world of college and jobs. But he was still in the thick of something joyful, complicated and imperfect - youth.

Andrew was born in Worcester, Mass. He moved to Florida as an infant, but loved New England. He wore out his Boston Red Sox cap. When the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl this year, he cried.

He was loyal. When Andrew and his friend, T.J. Smith, were in the sixth grade, kids picked on them. They exacted revenge by putting dirt in the bullies' food. When his friend got in trouble for it, Andrew turned himself in, too.

"He wanted to be there with me," said Smith, 19. "He always had your back."

Andrew excelled at tennis at Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg.

"He was intense," said his coach, Elaine East. "He was driven. Very competitive."

When his parents, John and Sandra Smith, divorced, it was hard on Andrew. But it gave him compassion Once, when he found out a friend's parents were splitting, he came home distraught. "He looks so sad," Andrew said. "I don't know what to say to him."

Andrew's personality was light and funny. He was dry, but he liked toilet humor, said his best friend, Owen Legendre.

His friends left for college, and Andrew stayed home and attended St. Petersburg College. He breezed through with high grades. He parked cars at a nightclub.

He missed his friends. He'd travel most weekends to see them. Recently, he applied to Tulane University, where Legendre attends. He wanted to study journalism.

"We spent an entire afternoon together doing college applications," said Sandra Smith, 45. "I'm so glad I had that time."

Early in the morning of Feb. 16, Andrew hung out with friends. They went driving. The Florida Highway Patrol said Andrew lost control of his Acura on Feather Sound Drive and collided with another car. He died. He was 19.

The family is trying to understand details, said Sandra Smith. She believes the kids were drinking. She doesn't think hiding it will help anyone learn. After Andrew died, Legendre, 19, talked to Shorecrest students. He told them to be careful, and tell your friends you love them.

Andrew's sister, Jillian Smith, did just that. An hour after he died, the 22-year-old student at American University sent her brother a text message. She was unaware of the accident.

I'm thinking about you, Andrew, and I really miss you.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

Biography

Andrew Smith

Born: Aug. 15, 1988.

Died: Feb. 16, 2008.

Survivors: parents, John and Sandra Smith; sister, Jillian Beth Smith; paternal grandmother, Rita Smith; maternal grandmother, Joanne Arbogast; many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Services: Mass at 11 a.m. today at Holy Family Catholic Church, 200 78th Ave. NE, St. Petersburg. Reception at Feather Sound Country Club, 2201 Feather Sound Drive, Clearwater.

[Last modified February 22, 2008, 22:38:29]