Dr. William L. Smiley devoted his entire career to the health of St. Louis women and children. The man that touched many lives as both a physician and teacher passed away February 17 at the age of 92.
Dr. Smiley began his career at Homer G. Phillips Hospital, where he was one of five Rosenwald Fellows and completed his residency in obstetrics/gynecology. He later became supervisor of the OB/GYN program at the hospital and one of the first African-American physicians to join the faculty at Washington University Medical School.
His list of honors and accolades is long. Dr. Smiley was the first African-American president of the St. Louis OB/GYN Society, a position he held from 1967 until 1970. He also served as chief of out-patient services for the City of St. Louis from 1978 to 1985 and was project director of St. Louis Regional Health Care, now St. Louis ConnectCare, until his retirement in 2001.
Also in 2001, Dr. Smiley was honored by the St. Louis American as a Salute To Excellence in Health Care Lifetime Achiever. In 2003, St. Louis ConnectCare named its new urgent care facility, Smiley Urgent Care Center, in his honor.
“He was very much involved with the implementation and upgrading of the OB/GYN areas at both the People’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Infirmary,” Dr. James Whittico said. “He was an outstanding human being. I found him to be outstandingly energetic and very educated and very good in his field.”
“He dedicated his whole life to St. Louis,” Dr. Nathaniel Murdoch said of Dr. Smiley. “He served his community with great passion.” Murdoch also described Dr. Smiley as a “very compassionate person” and said he regarded him highly as a skilled surgeon and OB/GYN pathologist.
“He was one of my favorite people,” said Murdoch, who regularly played golf with the late doctor. “I guess you could say he was somewhat of a surrogate father to me although my father was alive until ’88.”
Dr. Smiley delivered Murdoch’s daughter and was extremely proud when Murdoch became the second African-American president of the St. Louis OB/GYN Society.
Dr. Frank Richards also played golf with Dr. Smiley and remembers his skill and precision as a surgeon as well as his rapport with students.
“He was firm, but not overly so,” Richards said of Dr. Smiley’s teaching style. “He was a great instructor, not only in the academics of medicine but in the technical aspects of surgery.”
Dr. Smiley leaves to cherish his memory two daughters, Nina Smiley Wilkins of St. Louis and Michelle Smiley of New York, and a grandson, Milton Perry Smiley Wilkins.