Obituaries

David Hamilton SmithSurgeon, Tennis Enthusiast

David Hamilton Smith, 82, a former Arlington surgeon who was a nationally ranked amateur tennis player, died of leukemia Nov. 26 at a nursing facility in Salisbury, N.C.

Dr. Smith had a private medical practice in Arlington from 1962 to 1977. During that time, he was associated with area hospitals, including what is now Inova Fairfax Hospital and Virginia Hospital Center.

As a tennis player, Dr. Smith played daily and competed in tournaments, winning several Virginia state championships.

In 1977, he moved to Salisbury to work at a Veterans Administration hospital. After his retirement, he devoted more time to competitive tennis. He was twice credited with saving the lives of tennis partners who collapsed on the court.

In the past 15 years, he had been ranked among the top 100 men in his age group.

Most recently, he played tennis in the national 80-and-over age division at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, where he was a member.

Dr. Smith was born in Anderson, S.C., and raised there and in Washington, where he graduated from Western High School.

He graduated from Washington and Lee University and received a medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.

He served in the Navy as a medical officer during the Korean War and did his residency in surgery at what is now Washington Hospital Center.

He was a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Alpha Kappa Kappa medical fraternity.

Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Charlene Fator Smith of Salisbury; three children, Holly Smith Flannery of Lovettsville, Dr. Karen R. Smith of Lafayette, La., and David H. Smith Jr. of Creedmoor, N.C.; and five grandchildren.

Bettye Holtzman LeischBusiness Manager

Bettye Holtzman Leisch, 89, a business manager in the 1940s for several Washington retailers and appliance stores, died of a heart attack Dec. 12 at the Virginian, the assisted living community in Fairfax where she lived.