Paint the Town Grey

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Each year, more than 23,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with brain cancer and other nervous system cancers, according to federal statistics. This number includes many people in Clarendon County. In Turbeville, one family in particular knows exactly what the effects are. Their loved one, Hugh Smith, was diagnosed with brain cancer a few years ago.

Smith was born in Turbeville and lived there all of his life except for his college years at Winthrop. He began working at the Turbeville IGA as a teenager and worked his way up to eventually becoming the owner of the business. Many customers of IGA describe Smith as having a “big contagious smile and always had time for a hello and kind word.” When hiring people to work at IGA, he took pride in teaching them to be good employees and citizens of the community. Smith also supported the local schools and recreation departments by becoming a sponsor and attending events. He was a coach for many years. Smith was also a charter member of the Puddin Swamp Singers, which allowed him to share his talent of singing with others.

Smith was diagnosed with a Grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma in October 2015. He sought treatment at some of the leading brain tumor centers in the United States found that the common answer to his diagnosis was that the care he received was “standard” and was not specific to his type of cancer. He lost his battle and passed August 16, 2017. Hugh's wife, Marti Smith, also felt that the treatment should be more personalized to specific brain tumors.

Brain cancer is a devastating disease that takes the victim away little by little,” said Marti. “Awareness of this disease is so important so the that treatments can be improved and developed further. With improved treatments, the prognosis of brain cancer can be improved.”

Hugh’s family and friends also participated in the Brain Tumor Walk in Charleston last May to raise money for research. Their team finished in 9thplace for raising money out of over 40 teams.

The family and friends of Hugh have decided to take action to raise money to honor his memory. They are selling solid grey bows as a symbol to bring awareness to brain cancer awareness month, which is the month of May. This will be the second year that the bows are being sold in and around Turbeville. “Paint the Town Grey” was initiated from Smith's daughter, Blythe, along with her friends, Allie Keith Coker and Lillie Blakelyn Coker.

Marti said that this year's event is off to a great start. All sales have been as a result of using Facebook to make the public aware of the fundraiser.

So far we have sold 45 bows with an estimated donation amount of over $600,” said Marti. “We also received a generous donation from the Clarendon County Dancing with the Stars. With those donations we were able to offer the Hugh Smith Memorial Scholarship for the first time this year.”

It is very encouraging and touching to see the grey bows around town knowing that Hugh is still so fondly remembered and still so loved by the community that he loved,” said Marti.

The money raised will be used to make a donation to brain tumor research and scholarships for graduating seniors.