Randi Sigmund Smith

Rändi Sigmund Smith, Ed.D., 69, of Columbia CT, passed away on February 6, 2012. Rändi was born Rändi Marie Sigmund on March 18, 1942 in Washington, D.C. to Marie Rändi "Jackie" Sigmund and Frederick William Sigmund of Alexandria, Virginia. She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and English from The College of William and Mary, where she was an active member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and met her future husband Richard Peter Smith of West Hartford who attended Georgetown University. Rändi went on to receive an M.S. in Industrial Psychology from Norwich University thesis research at Yale University and an M.A. in Adult Education and Cognitive Development and an Ed.D. in Adult Cognitive Development & Behavior Modification, both from Columbia University. Dr. Smith spent over 30 years as the managing principle of Smith & Associates, Inc., a management-consulting firm based in West Hartford, specializing in workforce transition, whose clients included IBM, Xerox, and Pitney Bowes. Dr. Smith once was a guest panelist on The Executive Forum television program, in a segment entitled "Beating the Competition," hosted by Mr. Edwin Newman, and in 1995 her innovative PC-based educational software, LTE: Leading the Enterprise, won Best Distance Learning Program of the Year from the U.S. Distance Learning Association. The later years of her career were spent as managing principal of Innovation House, the successor corporation to Smith & Associates, and the Virtual Group Institute, LLC. During this time she focused on personal, executive, and MBA coaching, and served as a visiting professor/lecturer at both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas at Dallas. She developed an international clientele of individuals and groups in corporate, medical and university settings, and her specialty became "Helping High Achievers Achieve More." Dr. Smith was a former board member of the Junior League of Hartford, an active member of the Hartford Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta, and loved to play duplicate bridge as a member of the Town & County Club. In her spare time, she also was a strong champion of women's causes and equality, and enjoyed travelling to Hawaii and the Florida Keys, scuba diving, reading, skiing, sports cars, and "power shopping." She is survived by her loving husband of 47 years Richard Smith of West Hartford; her daughters Robin Lynne Smith of West Hartford and Rändi Smith Bessette and her husband Jeffrey Robert Bessette of Maryland; her three grandchildren Louis John "L.J." Luba, III of West Hartford; Luke Holden Bessette and Marie Rändi Bessette of Maryland; and her beloved Chihuahua, Lulu Belle. A memorial service will be held on Saturday February 11, 2012 at 10am at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church 814 Asylum Ave. in Hartford. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be sent to the UCONN Foundation, 10 Talcott Notch Road, Suite 100, Farmington, CT 06032, checks made out to The Lupus Research Fund Fund # 21317, in memory of Rändi Sigmund Smith.

Randi Sigmund Smith

March 18, 1942 - February 6, 2012