Messenger - Vol. 2, No. 3, Page 31
Summer 1993
Alumni Profile: Another Smith goes to nursing 

     They say that people tend to follow in the footsteps of those they
respect and admire. This seems particularly true for the children of Joseph
and Elaine Smith Sr. of Lewes, Del. All six of their children are Delaware
graduates, five of them with degrees in nursing.
     The most recent Fightin' Blue Hen, Joseph Smith Jr., received his
nursing degree May 29. The entire family was present to see the last member
of this long, blue-and-gold line.
     Smith's five sisters, who also helped make up the 22 consecutive years
of Delaware study, include Katherine Smith Lowe, Delaware '75; Mariann
Smith Bunting, Delaware '77 '81M; Patricia Smith Vattilana, Delaware '80;
Sharon Smith Gandolfo, Delaware '82; and Marguerite Smith Diehl, Delaware
'83.
     Bunting, a school teacher with a degree in education, was the only
Smith who did not matriculate through the College of Nursing.
     Brother-in-law William Lowe graduated from Delaware in 1974, and
another in-law, Joseph Vattilana, received his doctorate in public
administration May 29. Finally, Karen Furaro, Joe Jr.'s fiancee, is a
member of the Class of 1992.
     Smith admitted that his sisters influenced his decision of a college.
"There was no other school but U.D.," he says.
     Seeing the professional success of his four sisters helped him make
the decision to switch from undeclared to education and finally to focus on
a career in the health field.
     The only drawback of having so many members of the same family in one
profession, says Joe Jr., is that at family gatherings, nursing is all they
end up talking about.
                                   -Jenni Collins, Delaware '83