Richard Stowers Smith, "Pops" to his family, died August 12, 2026, walking in the pasture at Stowers Ranch, the place he loved most in all the world. He was 92 years old.
Richard was born in San Antonio, Texas, on July 20, 1934, to Brigadier General Luther Stevens Smith and Hazel Stowers Smith. During World War II, Richard attended sixteen elementary schools across the United States, moving from one military base to another as his father’s career progressed. During that time, the one constant in his life was spending summers with his family at Stowers Ranch, the ranch founded by his maternal grandfather in 1904. This was the beginning of his lifelong love for Stowers Ranch.
In 1946, Richard moved to the Texas Hill Country when his parents bought a ranch adjacent to Stowers Ranch. Following Hunt Elementary School, Richard attended Schreiner Institute and Yale University. Upon graduation from Yale, Richard worked briefly for the G. A. Stowers Furniture Company in San Antonio and attended one year of law school at the University of Texas before beginning an investment banking career in New York City, working at Lazard Frères & Co. and New York Securities Co., Inc.
Richard met Josephine (Jo) Powell on a blind date when they spent the weekend outside the city playing tennis with family friends. He was smitten after one match. A recent graduate of Smith College, Jo was teaching in New York City. They married in Richmond, Virginia, on January 13, 1962, and lived happily together for over 64 years. His love for and dedication to Jo shaped the rest of his life.
After a brief move to San Antonio, Richard and Jo returned to New York City. In 1973, with his heart still set on Texas, he brought his family to Houston, continuing his finance career with Rotan Mosle and Allied Bank, and later co-founding Ventex Management.
Through different professional moves, the ranch remained Richard’s passion. In 1965, he turned his attention there in earnest. This was the beginning of a lifelong commitment to restoring the land and stewarding the animals and wildlife he loved. This passion and conviction helped him lead the extended family to donate a conservation easement on the ranch to The Nature Conservancy almost 20 years ago. This same passion and conviction were recognized in May of this year when Stowers Ranch received a Lone Star Land Steward Award from Texas Parks & Wildlife.
Pops loved a good story and a good laugh, and he had an endless supply of both. He loved skiing, hiking, tennis, and squash, and he was an avid outdoorsman. He was happiest at Stowers Ranch riding his mare Bess, “hunting” (really, looking at wildlife), swimming, fly fishing in Flat Rock Creek, canoeing on Bonnibel Lake, watching the turkeys roost at dusk, surveying the ranch from his old and prized red jeep, or just sitting quietly on a hilltop bench taking in the sunset. He was always the one dreaming up the next adventure, and he was never happier than with Jo and his family by his side on the land he loved.
Pops is survived by his wife Jo; their son Elliott Stowers Smith and his wife Denise Katsias Smith of Houston, Texas; their daughter Quincy McRae Smith of Hunt, Texas; and his grandchildren, Zachary Stowers Smith and Katherine Powell Smith. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews: Clare B. Foshee; Page Stowers Foshee and his husband Robert Bracewell; Adam Jay Wilt and his wife Lishka Wilt; and Justin Stowers Wilt and his wife Helen Reinecke-Wilt, and their children, Murphy and Amelia.
The family will gather to remember Richard and celebrate his life at a service in the Mo Ranch Chapel in Hunt, Texas, on Tuesday, August 18, at 4:00 p.m.
If you wish to make a gift in Richard's memory, the family suggests donating to The Hill Country Alliance (hillcountryalliance.org), the volunteer fire departments near the ranch (Divide, Hunt and Mountain Home), or the charity of your choice.