Clarence “Smitty” Smith recently visited Ground Zero in New York City, thanks to Brookdale Senior Living and Jeremy Bloom’s Wish of a Lifetime. Smith, 89, is a resident at Wellington Place of Hixson assisted living community. Smith’s son, Tom Smith, accompanied him on the trip.
“It was something I dreamed about,” the elder Smith said. “I couldn’t believe that I was able to go.”
Smitty, who was born in El Paso, Texas, moved with his parents to Knoxville in the 1940s and graduated from college in 1948. In 1968, he, his wife and children moved to Copperhill, Tenn., where he worked for the original Tennessee Copper Co. until his retirement in 1980. He and his wife moved to Wellington Place of Hixson in 2009.
Wellington Place of Hixson is a Brookdale community located on Hixson Pike.
According to a Brookdale Senior Living news release, Smith worked on bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers. He and his late wife loved to travel to see structures around the nation and were especially impressed with the Twin Towers in New York. It was their wish to see Ground Zero together.