In Memoriam: Isaac “Ike” Noyes Smith IV ’57, ’60L He served on the Board of Trustees from 1980-1991.

W&L News Office
June 28, 2021

Isaac “Ike” Noyes Smith IV ’57, ’60L, trustee emeritus of Washington and Lee University, died June 22, 2021. He was 89.

Smith grew up in Kanawha City, West Virginia, and graduated from Charleston High School. He earned his B.A. in political science from W&L in 1957 and received his law degree from W&L in 1960. He was active in student government, serving as vice president of both his student body and his law class. He also served as captain of the W&L football team and played basketball. He was a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and Phi Delta Theta social fraternity.

After graduation, Smith joined Kanawha Banking & Trust Co. (KB&T) in 1960, specializing in trust, marketing and commercial lending. He became president & CEO of KB&T and Intermountain Bankshares Inc. in 1982 and remained in those positions when the firm merged into United Bankshares Inc. and became an office of United Bank. Smith was also president and CEO of Kanawha-Roxalana Co. until his retirement in 2017.

Smith was a member of W&L’s Board of Trustees from 1980 to 1991. Over the years, he was actively involved with his alma mater. He co-chaired the On the Shoulders of Giants capital campaign for the Charleston, West Virginia, area, was a Law class agent and president of the Charleston, West Virginia, Alumni Chapter. He was also a member of the George Washington Society, the Commission of the 250th Observance, his 50th reunion class committee and the Alumni Athletic Council.

He served in a variety of public and business positions, including district governor for Rotary International, chair of the Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce, vice chairman of the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority, board member of the West Virginia Humanities Council, West Virginia Education Alliance, College Summit of West Virginia, Yeager Airport, Charleston Renaissance Corp., Business and Industrial Development Council, and the West Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges & Universities. Other former board memberships include Diamond Ice and Coal Co., the West Virginia Roundtable, Goodwill Industries, Fund for the Arts, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Salvation Army. He was trustee emeritus of the Booker T. Washington Institute and a member of the Stratford Hall Endowment Fund Investment Committee. He also served on the Advisory Council of the Carnegie Hall Foundation in Lewisburg.

Additionally, Smith was a trustee emeritus of the University of Charleston and a founding member and treasurer of the Faculty Merit Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the recognition of outstanding university and college teachers in West Virginia.

Smith is survived by his wife, Stuart; sons, Quintie, Botts and Lyle ’93, and daughter, Lisa; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.