Update: Leonard M. Smith Dies; ‘Dean’ of La Mesa Real Estate Agents Mourned

Updated at 8:40 p.m. Jan. 5, 2012

Leonard M. Smith—considered the “dean” of La Mesa real estate agents after 65 years in the business—has died, his son David confirmed Friday morning. He was 89, according to an obituary in the San Diego Daily Transcript.

Contacted at the Grossmont Boulevard real estate office his father founded, David Smith said he wouldn’t be able to give details until Monday—after friends had been informed.

Leonard Smith died last night, according to a source who asked not to be identified. 

Councilman Ernie Ewin said he knew of Smith long before he met him and was privileged to work in his realty office.

“In my opinion, there was not a more honest and fair man,” Ewin said via email Friday morning. “I respected his values and work ethic. He knew our city, Mount Helix and other local areas as if they were his back yard.
 In a sense, they were.

“When we would visit a listing, Leonard could tell us the home's history and ownership often from construction to room changes. Leonard loved what he did professionally but not as much as he did his family.”

Ewin said driving by Smith’s office “will seem a bit empty—but he is there.”

In a La Mesa Courier profile in August, Leonard M. Smith & Associates was depicted as being one of only a handful of La Mesa companies doing business continuously since the early 1950s.

“Leonard first visited La Mesa as a naval officer in 1945, when his ship had a layover in San Diego,” said the Courier profile. “He found the peaceful setting of La Mesa and the rolling hills of East County appealing.”

According to his former website, “Leonard M. Smith began his real estate career in La Mesa in 1946. A charter member of the La Mesa Board of Realtors and past president, he was instrumental in organizing their Multiple Listing Service. He has maintained a La Mesa office for 50+ years, enjoying a reputation of the highest integrity while specializing in selling fine homes in the Mt. Helix and East County areas.”

In 1946, Smith got his real estate license and began selling homes and vacant lots—and even met Col. Ed Fletcher of Fletcher Hills fame. Smith “sold much of his Grossmont and Mount Helix property,” the Courier said.

Historian Todd Pitman of La Mesa interviewed Smith about two years ago, he said Friday. Smith lived on Mount Helix and was born in southwestern Kansas.

Pitman listed other facts about the famed Realtor, and said he was preparing an article for Modern San Diego.

• He joined the Navy in 1942.
• Was a math major at Southeastern Missouri State (undergrad) and Columbia Midshipman's School in New York.
• His ship came through San Diego during WWII and he thought is was a nice place ... returned after the war.
• Moved to La Mesa in 1946 and formed real estate office with Paul Henderson... sold properties for Colonel Fletcher.

Pitman said Smith—trained as a architect/draftsman locally under John Lloyd Wright and CJ Paderewski—designed and built dozens of homes on Mount Helix for spec with brother-in-law George Eckle starting in the late 1940s.

“Property would be bought from Fletcher, house designed by Smith, built by Eckle and sold by Smith,” Pitman said. He did this through the 1950s.

In the August profile, the Courier asked Smith: What would Col. Fletcher think if he saw La Mesa today?

 “This is just what he envisioned,” Smith was quoted as saying. “He would love it. He had his spot on top of Grossmont where he enjoyed meditating and looking out over the community.”