Laura (Patty) Louise Orr Smith

Laura (Patty) Louise Orr Smith, 99, died peacefully May 16,2022 at NHC Assisted Living in Farragut. She was born October 23, 1922 to Henry Stuart Orr and Yvonne Marie Camors Orr in Shreveport, LA. During her childhood she lived in Shreveport, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and spent her formative years in Island Home in South Knoxville. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School and the University of Tennessee. She was a member Immaculate Conception Church of Knoxville, where on October 9, 1946 she was married to Guy Lincoln Smith III, who predeceased her in 1987. Throughout Guy L. Smith III’s tenure as Director of the Knoxville Zoological Park (1970-1987), Patty was a close working partner to him, with a strong focus on the unique care and husbandry of big cats, especially ‘Joshua the Lion,’ as well as numerous other African and Asian lions, Bengal tigers, white tigers, snow leopards, jaguars and cheetahs. Her success at nursing ailing cubs, a very difficult and delicate endeavor, to robust health was widely acclaimed through the zoological world and was a signal contribution to protecting endangered species. She was a self-trained migratory and song bird expert who worked closely with Florida State University ornithologists tracking the migratory patterns of birds through Dog Island, Florida, where she resided for nearly 30 years. During her time on Dog Island, she was a prolific writer of both poetry and prose, largely focusing on the fauna and flora of the U.S. Gulf Coast and the personal experience of living alone on a deserted island. A number of her works were published. She was also preceded in 1992 in death by her sister, Yvonne Orr Schaad, Knoxville. She is survived by her three children, Guy Lincoln Smith IV (Marjorie Russell Smith), Greenwich, CT, Marie Louise Camors (Cammie) Cate (Arthur William Cate, Jr.), Knoxville, and Christopher Zachary Smith (Melanie Devau Smith), Lenior City, TN; grandchildren, Abigail Courtney Smith, Guy Lincoln Smith V, Laura McNab Smith; Arthur Alexander Cate, Laura Elizabeth Camors Cate, Brittany Marie Smith, Yvonne Devau Smith, and great grandchildren Ryland Hugh Smith Willis, Holden Guy Smith, Caroline Grace Mulhern Smith, Henry Alexander Cate, Charles Robert Cate, and Grayson James Mills. At Patty’s request there will be a private burial. A Mass will be said in her name at a later time. The family requests that contributions in lieu of flowers be made in the name of Patty Smith to the Knoxville Zoological Garden, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Dr, Knoxville, TN 37914; online: https://www.zooknoxville.org/donate/overview/

Tributes

Laura (Patty) Louise Orr Smith

October 23, 1922 - May 16, 2022