Accident Database

The rapids of the North Fork, rated Class 5, or most difficult to paddle, were Donald Smith's favorite, his brother said. An expert at the sport -- he was so good he could shoot rapids "striding," or standing in a kayak -- he loved the challenge, as well as the natural beauty of the area. On Thursday, the North Fork took his life.

It appeared the skirt of his kayak got caught on a branch or part of a tree under the water and flipped him upside down, according to Senior Trooper Jake Kopec of the West Virginia State Police.

"The stretch he was in he had done hundreds of times," his brother said.

Mr. Smith was reported missing Friday, and his body was found that day. An autopsy was under way Sunday, Trooper Kopec said, but apparent cause of death was drowning. He was 44.

"There was no question he was doing exactly what he loved," his brother said. "The shame of it was he had probably the best year of his life. It was probably the happiest he'd been with his law practice and having his place by the river."

Donald Smith, who was raised in Franklin Park, was known to other kayakers from as far west as California and Colorado, where he went to paddle each year during "spring melt." His passion for kayaking even took him to Ecuador.

"By Friday evening, there were tens of messages" on the Internet from kayaking buddies, his brother said. "He was often the person who was showing other people down, whether it was their first time or hundredth time," said fellow kayaker Curtis Heishman, who also lives in the Davis, W.Va., area. "He enjoyed being the person to lead the way." Among those he introduced to the sport were his six brothers.

Kyle Wingler, of Alexandria, Ohio, another kayaker friend, remembered how after Mr. Smith broke his leg kayaking in Colorado one spring, he came home and after a brief respite resumed his passion.

"He would hobble down in his cast and run a Class 5 with a broken leg," said Mr. Wingler.

"He was an incredible kayaker, one of the top creek boaters in northern West Virginia, and that's saying a lot."

Mr. Heishman's favorite memory of his late friend was a cold and snowy Christmas Eve they spent together on the North Fork two or three years ago. "It was a particularly magical day for both of us," Mr. Heishman said. "He'd been under a lot of stress and showed up looking to escape a lot of those stresses. The two of us did two runs in the snow with ice cliffs on the banks."

Mr. Smith had a general law practice, but a big part of it was devoted to property rights cases. He got interested in property law working with his father, William Claney Smith, of Franklin Park, an attorney-turned-real estate businessman who had handled similar cases.

Mr. Smith majored in philosophy as an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University and then got a master's degree in the same subject at Duquesne University. He then graduated from Duquesne's School of Law.He also was active in sports growing up, swimming and playing hockey for North Allegheny High School.

In college and during his early 20s, he focused on fishing, his brother said. He caught what was at the time the second-largest Northern pike in Pennsylvania and also landed a 32-pound, 48-inch muskie in Ontario, Canada.

He also became interested in archery and got his brothers involved in that sport as well before turning his focus to kayaking. For many years, he also had a pet fox.

"He was a focused and intense person, whether in his real work or pursuing kayaking," his brother said. "The fact he did this incredibly challenging kind of risky kayaking ... pretty much sizes him up."

In addition to his brother David and his father, Mr. Smith is survived by his mother, Nancy, and five other brothers: Mark of Observatory Hill; Douglas of Shaler; Timothy and William, both of Naples, Fla.; and James of Boston. Donations may be made in Mr. Smith's name to Thomas Fire Department, Thomas, W.Va., or Tucker County, W.Va., Search and Rescue.