Dean Smith dies at 79

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Accomplished photographer served Current

THROUGH MY LENS – Dean Smith addresses the 2021 convention of the South Texas Press Association in Uvalde, covering his 60-year career in photojournalism

Frio-Nueces Current contributing photographer Grover “Dean” Smith succumbed to heart failure Monday, September 26, in Kingsville at the age of 79.
Smith was responsible for school, sports and community news photography for many years at the Current and had earned recognition for his photojournalism over a long career.

Smith began working in photojournalism by covering the Civil Rights movement in Alabama in the 1960s.
In addition to having work published in Southern Living magazine over many years, Smith served as photojournalist for the Orlando Sentinel, the Montgomery Advertiser Journal, and the Beaumont Enterprise. In his final years, Smith contributed to the Kingsville Record.
He and his wife Virginia moved to Dilley in the late 1980s and worked for over 25 years at the high school, where he served as head of the English Department and also taught English at the college level through Southwest Texas Junior College. Virginia served as district librarian and high school art teacher. Upon retirement from the school district, he continued college instruction through Coastal Bend College and in the Texas A&M University system.
Smith’s contributions to the Current for more than two decades garnered recognition from newspapers across the region and in 2021 he was invited to speak on his career and offer advice on photojournalism to the South Texas Press Association at its annual convention in Uvalde.
Smith is preceded in death by his wife. He is survived by daughters Gina and Tara, grandchildren and extended family.
A full obituary will be published when available.