Harley Smith

Harley Glen Smith

March 26, 1949 – March 24, 2025

Harley Glen Smith, known to all of us as Glen, was born in Fort Worth, Texas on March 26, 1949. On March 24, 2025, Glen was invited by his Creator to come live with Him for the rest of eternity and Glen immediately accepted His invitation. 

Glen was raised in the Benjamin, Oak Cliff, and Farmers Branch areas of Texas. Beginning in the 1960’s, when he was still in high school, Glen accompanied his parents (his father, a former Baptist Preacher) and brother to the Glorieta Baptist Assembly in Glorieta, New Mexico. Glen enjoyed Glorieta so much that he served as a summer and winter break staffer throughout high school and college. Glen returned to the Santa Fe area after his college days and never left.

Glen’s passion for the arts began to show in middle school during art classes, formal piano lessons, and when he joined the band, playing the trombone. In June 1967 he graduated from R L Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas, where he was a part of the A Capella Choir and many theater productions. He attended Dallas Baptist University where he continued his involvement in multiple drama and musical productions. He worked with the popular vocal and instrumental duo, “The Carpenters” helping to produce their shows, design artwork and lighting.

During the summer of 1971 Glen went to work for Glorieta Baptist Assembly (GBA) full time. He was the manager of New Mexico Hall, the main hospitality hall for everyone coming into and leaving GBA. That summer he was also assigned the management and production responsibilities for Holcomb Auditorium, the main large auditorium for the conference center. During the transition between the 1971 and 1972 conference seasons, Glen was also assigned the responsibilities of managing and directing the college aged summer staff. 

During 1976, Glen left Glorieta Baptist Assembly, moved into Santa Fe, and became a real estate agent. Never satisfied with doing just one thing, he also began building a Santa Fe area tourism business focusing on the native American pueblos of the north central New Mexico area. Just to make sure he had plenty to keep him busy, he also managed the Fort Marcy Compound Condo Rentals during this time. He also became active with the Santa Fe Opera, volunteering for different activities and event support efforts during the summer opera season. He gave countless volunteer hours to the Folk Art Museum and loved the culture and history of New Mexico. Glen was one of the founders of the Gay Rodeo, which has become an annual Santa Fe tradition and major summer event.

In 1986 Glen joined Stephen Etre at Stephen’s, a Consignment Gallery, as it transitioned from Streck’s. For many years Glen was a business partner with Stephen in building the Stephen’s business in the Santa Fe Community. Named by the Stephen’s team as “Glenopedia,” Glen’s extensive expertise in art, antiques, history and Santa Fe were skills the group counted on. Glen was truly a genius and carried encyclopedic level knowledge in his head. He could figure out the most obscure and remote objects that came into the gallery through the years. He was a solid and dependable colleague who they counted on a great deal. In the past few years, Glen enjoyed most working on solo projects in his private office. He took on the appraisal work for Stephen’s. Glen was able to take a look at a photo and figure out the relative value of anything in the photo and then did his homework to make sure the appraisal was complete and accurate.

Glen was very much a part of the Santa Fe social scene with personal relationships to the famous, infamous and local people of Santa Fe. If ever there was a question about Santa Fe history or notable people, Glen knew something about it. He was often called the “Rhona Barrett” of Santa Fe! In all seriousness, he was truly a walking treasure trove of information. Being around Glen was like no other – he was smart, quirky, an interesting conversationalist and a loyal friend. You always left a conversation with Glen knowing something new. In this way, a conversation with Glen left you better for having spent time with him. He was an amazing person who is missed by the many lives he touched!

Glen was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Mary Etheleen Hough and George Frederick Smith, Sr; his maternal grandparents, Martha Rada Branscum and Charles Monroe Scifres; his parents, Mary Inez Scifres and George Frederick Smith, Jr.; his sister-in-law, Jacqueline Hardin Smith; three paternal uncles, Paul Richard, Robert Adrian and Edwin Aylward Smith and their spouses; two maternal uncles, Harley Edward and Sammy Glenn Scifres and their spouses; two maternal aunts, Lorene Scifres Capps and LaVerne Scifres Stokes and their spouses. Glen is survived by his only sibling, Stanley Allen Smith; his four nephews and their wives; five grand nieces and three grand nephews; multiple cousins and their extended families.

A service celebrating Glen’s life will be held on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 5:00pm (with a reception and visitation following) at the United Church of Santa Fe, 1804 Arroyo Chamiso Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Instead of sending flowers to honor Glen, the family requests that you consider donating to one of the following organizations: The Horse Shelter (thehorseshelter.org), The Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society (sfhumanesociety.org), Bienvenidos Food Pantry here in Santa Fe (https://bienvenidosfoodpantry.org/), or Texans on Mission(https://www.texansonmission.org/).