Charles Zellender Smith

Born: Feb. 23, 1927, Lakeland, Florida

Died: August 28, 2016 in Seattle, Washington

Education: Temple University, B.S., 1952; University of Washington School of Law, J.D., 1955

Professional career: Clerk for Washington Supreme Court Justice Matthew W. Hill, 1955; Deputy Prosecutor, King County, Washington, 1956-61; Special Assistant to U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, 1961-1964; King County Municipal Court Judge, 1965; King County Superior Court Judge, 1966-1973; Associate Dean (1973-1978), full Professor (1973- 1983), University of Washington School of Law; private practice, Rosenblume, Smith & Associates, 1982-1988; Washington Supreme Court Justice, 1988-2002

Military: U.S. Army, 1945-1946, Honorable Discharge as staff sergeant; U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1973-1986, retired with rank of lieutenant colonel.

Married: 1955 to Eleanor Jane Martinez; four children

Notably: The first ethnic minority on the Washington Supreme Court; appointed by Gov. Booth Gardner in 1988.

Other activities: President of the American Baptist Churches, USA, 1976- 1977; Co-chairman, Washington State Minority & Justice Commission, 1990- 2009; member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2000-2001.