Burr went hang gliding the weekend after he returned from the Middle East for some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately he suffered a bad injury and was hospitalized once again. After long months of recuperation Burr left the CIA on disability and moved west to be near his family. While recovering from his injuries, lung cancer was discovered and he spent his last few months living at home with his wife Mary Jane and daughter Susan.

Robert 'Burr' Smith died on January 7, 1983, in San Diego, California, at age 58. His ashes are buried at the military cemetery at Ft. Rosecrans overlooking the San Diego Harbor.(r)

Burr was survived by his wife Mary Jane, his three children: Scott Smith, Susan Finn and Sandra Miller, and eight grandchildren. He is remembered by his colleagues fondly and with much emotion as a man who knew his life’s calling was to make the world a safer place for his children.

Burr is also survived by his Hmong "son", Da Yang, a young soldier he informally "adopted" in the 1970's in Laos. Burr's daughters recently connected by telephone after 34 years with Da Yang, who is now 45 and lives with his family in Oklahoma, and consider him to be their brother (R)

One letter he wrote to his daughter Susan in 1969 from Laos you might find interesting today, in light of the war. She had written him to tell him about the Charles Manson murders which had horrified her. Susan believes this letter says much about her dad and how he viewed his work:

"Your observations on the recent violent murders at home are pretty much like mine I think. These are strange times babylove - people are mixed up as never before, and the drug thing makes everything just that more hideous. My life, my income, and therefore your security, are all directly related to violence. I would not have this job, nor be away from home so

much if there was not so much hate and violence in the world. It is odd (and sometimes deeply disturbing) to realize that my livelihood is gained from the most basic weakness of mankind - his inability to live in peace with his neighbors. Someday there may be no need for my kind of person - the experts in violence - and the world will be a better place when that day comes. I will be the very first to shout welcome to that happy time, but in the meantime there are tigers in the jungle and the defenseless must be defended - which means killing tigers. I hope you understand baby - I am not really a war-lover or a man of violence – it’s just that I have been trained for many years in the skills of warfare, and am needed to help other people defend themselves because they are not trained in these terrible skills."

(Letter, 1969, Burr Smith)