Bo  Smith's Website 

Last Updated: October 12th, 2026


VA-15 1967

" If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change your attitude"

"Success is accomplishing your goals in any endeavor you select"

Profile

My email: [email protected]
Education
1959-1963


 BA Geological Sciences '1963
50+ Graduate Hours		 Military Service


1963-1991
Educator



1991-2007
 		Bo's Mine Tours and
Educational Services


 2007-2020

"Any man may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile,

I think he can respond with a great deal of pride and satisfaction ....... I served in the U.S. Navy "

John F. Kennedy
For more Details about my Navy and Education Career click on My Personal Page
 
My Active Websites



Bo's Mine Tours Consulting

Updated: July 9th, 2023		 Native American Mica Mining Research Project
Updated February 19th, 2018
 		Protein Crystals in Space

Updated August 1st, 2008

Bo's Memoir

 (Last Updated  January, 11th, 2026)


I got this image on Facebook of poster advertised by smileup.shop.com
 
"On Bearing and in Position"
 
I have been working on this memoir for about five years now.   What began as an attempt to document my life for my family has morphed into not only a discussion of my childhood and my college experience at Cornell but also a detailed account of my Navy career and description of my squadrons, staffs and ships during the period of time that I was assigned to them.

Of particular interest to some of my readers has been the chapters describing my three tours flying from aircraft carriers over south and north Vietnam, my US Air Fore exchange tour flying the F-105 Thunderchief, my tour at the Royal Air Force Staff College in Bracknell, England, and the three chapters documenting my two years as the Captain of the USS Austin LPD-4.

I hope to complete the final chapter of my Navy career spent as the Operations and Plans Officer at COMFAIRWESTPAC in Atsugi, Japan soon.

If I survive that and am still vertical and have sufficient memory left to continue on, I may attempt to document some of the high points of my second career as an educator and my third carrier with Bo' Mine Tours.

            

My Wife Caroline



Caroline and I were married on July 11th, 2026
We reside in Discovery Village at Deerwood a senior facility in Jacksonville, Florida
 
Our Dog "Foo"

 


Foo is a twelve year old Chinese Crescent "Puff Ball"


RETCAPS (Retired Captains Group)
RETCAPS is a local social group which meets once a month for lunch. Membership in this group is extended to retired Navy Captains most whom have had a major command like command of an air wing or ship. Exceptions are granted on a case by case basis such as for POWs. We normally start with a libation of some kind followed by lunch at a local eatery. Conversation topics are varied; sea stories, military status discussions, politics, medical topics; nothing is off limits.



Members at our October 15th, 2025 get together at Culnane's Irish Pub in Orange Park, Florida

VALION VA-15 Circa 1966/1967 Dinner at Caps
June 19th, 2020


My first squadron VA-15, had two back to back deployments Dixie and Yankee Stations off the coast of Vietnam in 1966 and 1967. I have detailed descriptions of those deployments in 'My Memoir'. We held regular reunions over the years. However, as the years have gone by we have lost about half of our squadron members or their wives. In addition to my wife, Diana, three members have passed since this picture was taken in 2020; Jerry "Possum" Terrell on the left end, his wife Sarah on the right end and Dave Parsons next to me. In addition to me, the only ones left in this picture are Dick and Diana Nolte on the left and Pete and Jane Schoeffel on the right.  Not pictured but still vertical are Gene Atkinson who lives on Harker's Island, on the outbacnk of North Carolina, Dave and Jane Thornhill here in Jacksonville, Miller and Connie Detrick in Tampa, Tony and Kathy Isger in South Florida, John Newman in the Villages north of Orlando, Dave MacMillan and his wife who live near Orlando, Marce Strickland in Parker, Colorado, Bob and  Lynn Hamel who live in California, and Sandy Culler who lives in New Mexico. As it is getting increasingly difficult for some of us to travel, we are looking at possibly getting together in the future by Zoom.
My Family

My Sister Barbara

Barbara and her Shia Tzu in 2014

My sister Barbara is two years younger than me. She spent her life living and working in New Jersey. Barbara recently left her home for many years in a community for seniors in Tom River in southern New Jersey and currently lives with her daughter Melissa and her husband David in northern New Jersey. Barbara has a cat or two and a wonderful Shia Tzu, Nicki who is a brother of my recently departed Shia Tzu, King Tut.
What's all this about Northern and Southern New Jersey, you ask?



I was born in Orange, New Jersey which is near Newark (northern), lived my high school years in Ridgewood (northern), and spent a lot of time in our family vacation house in Normandy Beach (I think northern!) without being aware that there was a difference. I recently learned that there was a movement in the late 1700s to divide the state into east and west New Jersey; east favoring New York city and its politics, and west favoring Philadelphia as it's cornerstone. So, it is still true today! If you live on southern New Jersey you cheer for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Philadelphia Phillies. If you live in northern New Jersey, you are fans of the Giants or Jets, the Rangers or Islanders, and the Yankees or Mets. My daughter Jessica and her husband Tom live at Barenegat Light on Long Beach Island and are avid Philadelphia sports fans.

My Five Daughters

left to right: Front row; Stacy and Lindsay Back Row; Jessica, Laura, and Heather
Heather, Laura, Jessica, Lindsay, Stacy (2025)
   

Daughter's and Grandchildren's Birthdays

 Daughters (5)





Heather Smith
(January 3rd, 1964)
Laura Smith
 (December 1st, 1965)
 Stacy Smith Gant
(July 19th, 1971)		 Jessica Gail Scangarello
(January 31st, 1983)		 Lindsay Dean Harper
(July 20th, 1985)

Grandchildren (10)

Austin Wright (July 12th, 1996)
Hadden Wright (August 5th, 1998)
Heather and David's sons
Eliza Eliza Emerson Voorhjies-19
(December 12th, 2006)
Laura and Steve's daughter
Oliver Gant- 17
 (June 30th, 2009)
Stacy and Jed's son
Eleanor (Nora) Lewis Gant-13
 (January 25th, 2013)
Stacy and Jed's daughter
(with neighbor's dog)

Leighton Marie Scangarello- 12
February 11th, 2013
  Jessica and Tom's daughter
Carly Gail Scangarello- 9
March 3rd, 2016
Jessica and Tom's daughter
Alex Scangarello- 8
  January 14th, 2017
Jessica and Tom's daughter
Thomas Dean Scangarello- 4 in November
Born November 9th, 2022
  Jessica and Tom's son



Curran Harper
March 2nd, 2012
Lindsay's son
Liv Harper 
October 9th, 2013
Lindsay's daughter

Relatively Recent Family Pictures

The Arrival of Thomas Dean Scangarelllo
 November, 2022


Jessica with Thomas
Thomas Dean Scangarello
Tom with Thomas
Alex, Thomas, Carly, Leighton

Fishing with the Scangarellos

Tom with prized Stripper
Leighton (left) and Carly (right)
Fishing with Tom and Jessica
in Barnegat Bay
I'm holding Jessica's catch
Doormat Flounders in 2021
with Carly (left) and Leighton (right)
 
   Pictures of my daughter Laura, Steve, and Eliza Voorheis
Summer 2020 Vacation

My daughter Laura plans a summer vacation trip every summer.



This is Eliza (soon to be in 8th grade), Laura, and Steve on one of their first stops which was to camp at Rocky Mountain State Park in Colorado.  Beautiful mountain landscape!
 One of the places they visited next was Arches National Park in Utah. Even though I've spent a lot of time in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, I have never been able to visit Utah on the ground. Spectacular topography.


This is Eliza at Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, Canada on July 2019 at age 13. She will be 18 next December.



My Five Daughters' and their Families

I will be updating this section over the next month or so as I receive inputs from my daughters!

Heather Scott Smith, her husband David Wright and their sons Hadden Wright and Austin Wright and Ella Spencer

Left to right: David Wright, Heather, Ella Spencer, Austin Wright, and Hadden Wright
My eldest daughter Heather is a senior lecturer and statistical consultant at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. CA. Her husband, David is a retired biostatistician and is an avid pickle ball player.

Their oldest son, Austin graduated from Cal Berkeley with a a dual physics and computer science major, completed a Computer Science Master's Degree program ((machine learning) at Imperial College London, and  received his PhD in Machine Learning  at Georgia Tech. Austin has accepted a tenure track research/teaching position at Cl Poly and has moved to San Luis Obispo with Ella.
 
Hadden completed his Bachelor's degree at  UCLA in  Honors Program with a  Math/Economics major with a concentration in computing and a minor in Statistics. He recently moved to Brooklyn for a job in Manhatten.  





As Heather, a Professor of Statistics and David, a biostatistition are winding down their careers, they are looking forward t a more relaxed lifestyle.



Heather's  exemplary performance as a statistics educator and in statistical consulting was recognized by the American Statistical Association in 2025 when she received the prestigious

W. J.Dixon Award for Excellence in Statistical Consulting

in Nashville, Tennessee.

Not only does Austin have outstanding academic credentials, but he also has exceptional practical experience in the computer world including receiving an award from NASA for his data processing program for the Mars rover.

Ella Spencer received her Bachelor of Science from the University of California Berkeley, her Masters degree from the Savannah School of Art and Design, and her PhD (Planning, Design and the Build Environment) from Clemson.

Austin and Ella plan to be married in 2027.



Hadden surprised us all when he recently decided to move to New York City. He works in Manhattan but can't afford to live there. Instead, he commutes from his small studio apartment in Brooklyn. 

He seems to be very happy with his decision!


I ran across this center picture of my grandsons Hadden and Austin when making an update to the website.
 I just had to include it with pictures of them 20 years later!





Hadden in 2019
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science at UCLA
Hadden (left) and Austin in 2005
Budding Geologists
 Austin in 2025
  PhD in Machine Learning at Georgia Tech

Hadden, left (age 7); Austin right (age 9)
  I gave them mining hammers for Christmas to encourage then to learn about Geology.
Heather gave them the hammers even though she was concerned about the safety of this whole idea!


Laura Kendall Smith, her husband Steve Voorheis and their daughter Eli Voorheis

Stacy Smith Gant, her husband Jed Gant and their children Oliver and Nora; and their dog Penny

Left to right: Jed, Oliver, Stacy, and Nora (Christmas 2025)

My middle daughter, Stacy is the Senior Director of Digital Learning at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Her group helps professors use instructional technology. Her husband, Jed, also works at NC State as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Design.  


They have two wonderful  children;  Oliver (17) and Eleanor (13). Oliver is headed to Appalachian State University in the fall of 2027. Eleanor will start high school the same year


They have a dog, Penny (not pictured,) which is a lab mix.


Stacy and Jed
Dr. Stacy Smith Gant
 25 years at NC State
Stacy getting her Doctorate of Education from the University of Florida in 2026



Oliver-  superior climber Penny


Caroline and I visited Stacy and her family in Raleigh in October 2026

We took a tour of Raleigh on the trolly and then Stacy took Caroline and me on a tour of the NC State campus
I particularly enjoyed getting to know Oliver better during our visit
 We enjoyed spending some time just hanging out at Stacy's home.
Stacy and Jed treated us to a delicious dinner and fun experience at one of their favorite Indian restaurants
 It was a great visit.

One of the favorite things I enjoyed doing with Stacy, Oliver, and Nora was studying rocks and minerals both in person and online!





Jessica Scangarello and her husband Tom and their children Leighton, Carly, Alex, and Tomas

My ex-wife Cathy and my two daughters, Jessica and Lindsay

Lindsay and Jessica in 2018


Lindsay Dean (Smith) Harper and her children Curran and Liv

Left to right:Liv, Lindsay, Curran
(In Jacksonville March, 2026)



Lindsay moved her family from Jacksonville, Florida to Folsom, California in March 2026.

Lindsay had experience working in a spa in Jacksonville. This experience enabled her to be hired as the Director of the "California Sun Spa in Folsom



Left to right: Curran (14), Liv (13), Lindsay (March 2026)
Left to right: Liv, Curran, Grandpa Bo (November 2025)

One of my favorite pictures of Liv and Curran










Curran and Liv in Nevada


My Other Daughters' and their Families
Updates in Progress
 


My "second" daughter Laura is an experienced television news producer who has her PhD in Journalism from the University of Texas. Laura is the "Hearst Lecturer of Journalism"  for the  College of Journalism at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. 

Her husband, Steve is a musician and private contractor.

Their beautiful and talented daughter, Eliza recently graduated from high school.  She is currently working and living at home (paying rent) and is considering her future plans!
 

  2025 in Barnegat Light
Left to right: Leighton, Alex, Jessica, Thomas, Carly, and Tom
This is a recent  picture taken of my fourth daughter Jessica, her husband Tom and their daughters Leighton, Carly, and their son Thomas at their home in Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island in NMw Jersey

They have a home and a business on Long Beach Island on "the shore" in New Jersey.
Tom and Jessica own a landscaping business on Long Beach Island in New Jersey. Tom manages the operations of the business while Jessica oversees the office management side. Tom decided to buy some land to use to process  yard trash from the business.  This land has been redeveloped into a farm with four horses and is a wedding venue. 

Tom graduated from Flagler College in St Augustine. Jessica earned her BA in Business Management at the University of North Florida while pursuing her first career as principal soloist at the Florida Ballet in Jacksonville. 

Their daughter Leighton will be 13 on February 11th. Their second daughter, Carly Gail Scangarello will be 10 on March 3rd.  And, their third daughter, Alex Elizabeth Scangarello turned 9 today on January 14th.

Their latest arrival Thomass Dean Scangrello is 43 (.born on November, 2022).






"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling

which thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is wiling to fight,
nothing that is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free
unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

John Stuart Mill

Website Created and Updated by
 Robert S. "Bo" Smith