This announcement of Bob’s death comes from MTOA where Bob was an original member. He was a kind and generous man who will be sorely missed. Our thoughts go out to his family.

Fellow Members,

It saddens me to report that Bob Smith passed away today at a hospital in Stuart, Florida.

Bob, member #24, has been well-known to the entire boating community for many years. He was the owner of American Diesel in Kilmarnock, VA and was known as the developer of the Ford Lehman marine engine. He was a regular exhibitor at TrawlerFest and boat shows, where he always promoted MTOA and brought in hundreds of members over the years.

Bob was among the members who joined MTOA in 1990, the year of our founding. He gave countless presentations at rendezvous on the care and maintenance of diesel engines and would answer any question on the subject. He was a regular contributor to the MTOA magazine, leaving us a wealth of reference information. When the first formal Board of Directors was formed in 1993, Bob served as Deputy Director of Engineering.

Bob was elected President of MTOA at the Annual Meeting in 1996. He occupied the position of Director of Propulsion Engineering at the time of his death.

Bob received the Superior Service Award for his work on the Newsletter, Rendezvous, and Membership Support. A few years ago he became one of the very few to receive the LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, which is given for highly distinguished service or achievement of lasting significance for MTOA over an extended period.

We’ll let you know more when the information becomes available.

Farewell, Bob… We’ll miss you.

Peter