Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

September 18, 2025

CHARLOTTE - Greg Smith, a former South Carolina state senator whose rural upbringing taught him resilience, a love for books and story-telling and a scrapiness that served him well in his careers in journalism, business and investment, died peacefully Sept. 18, 2025, with his devoted wife, Susan Loudenslager, at his side. He was 78.

Though shortened, his life was full, blessed by a loving family, deep friendships, a craving for learning, and an unbridled adventurous streak that took him to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and through the rapids of the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. But it was his 25 years with Susan – and her family – that brought him much contentment and pride.

He was born Philip Gregory Smith in Dillon, South Carolina. At age 5, his mother moved to Chicago, leaving her son in the care of his grandmother on a country farm outside of Dillon. In that isolated setting – his grandmother couldn’t drive – he learned the virtues of hard work, independence and self-reliance as he searched for solace trudging through the woods and fishing from the riverbanks of the Little Pee Dee River. Just before 10th grade, he joined his mother in Chicago.   

Armed to the end with a politician’s charm and smile, Greg admittedly lacked ambition in school early on. He told friends recently about the three teachers who sparked his passion for “the crafting of words and sentences – and the telling of stories.” One was an English teacher in Dillon who taught that “intimidated country boy” to love and excel in diagramming sentences. Another English teacher in Chicago assigned Greg to write a short story about his upbringing back in South Carolina. The teacher liked his honest and detail-rich writing so much, he urged Greg to become a writer. The third teacher, at the University of South Carolina, entered one of Greg’s assigned short stories in a competition. The story won.

When it came time to declare a major, Greg recalled later that he stared at the form and: “One of the choices … was ‘journalism.’ I picked it.”

It was a profession well-chosen. A journalism degree in hand, Greg was hired by a chain of South Carolina community newspapers as a news reporter. In no time, he was elevated to editor of The Mullins Enterprise in a vibrant tobacco town of 7,000 residents, just a few miles down from the farm in Dillon. His natural newspapering skills, confidence and charm allowed him to improve the newspaper almost immediately as he kept an eye on local politics – careful not to attack officials when he questioned, even criticized, government decisions. He even managed to gracefully remove, without ruckus, the slogan that topped the newspaper’s front page for many years: “Pull for Mullins or Pull Out.”

After more than a decade of journalism, Greg moved east to the South Carolina coast to tackle a different career. He joined what is now Dunes Beach Home Rentals at Litchfield Beach, later as president building Dunes into a large and successful beach home rentals company.

On his office wall, Greg tacked a guiding quote from Theodore Roosevelt: "It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena ..." His passion to be “in the arena” and a desire to help his neighbors led Greg to politics, first as a Georgetown County commissioner and then in the early 1990s as a state senator representing his adopted county. He was proud of his work in Columbia as a Democratic senator and the legislation he helped introduce and pass. Those bills included thwarting the growth of the hog farm industry in South Carolina, strengthening state laws against domestic abuse and protecting journalists from being forced to reveal their sources and notes. 

Yet his great love as a senator was being “back in the district” and mingling with constituents to hear their concerns and making sure he knew “what’s important to them. What’s bothering them.”

After four years in the Senate, Greg’s district was redrawn to the point he determined that reelection would be nearly impossible. He gave up his Senate seat and the real estate business, and decided instead to veer his life in a different direction. After careful research, Greg moved to Costa Rica and built a small house in the undiscovered village of Nosara overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He named it “Slowmocean.”

Soon, though, his new life took another turn: He met Susan, a successful realtor from Nashville, Tenn., and fell in love.They married and built a bigger house in Nosara and began spending six months out of the year there for the next 25 years – enjoying its natural beauty and simplicity.

Greg also found the embrace of a close family from Susan and her two daughters, Carolyn and Kelly, and their families. His spark for adventure never waned. He ran marathons. And with daughter Kelly, he peaked Kilimanjaro and spent 17 days camping and rafting on the Colorado River.

In 2017, Greg and Susan moved to Charlotte to be closer to daughter Carolyn and her family. They already had good friends in Charlotte and quickly made more. Both avid readers, they joined a local longtime book club, and Greg often led its most scintillating discussions, showing his passion for research and depth of empathy and vulnerability.

To his family and friends, Greg was beloved for his humor, his sincerity, his energy, warmth, deep thinking, his generosity, his wise financial advice – and, of course, his famous homemade bread.

Greg is survived by his wife, his four children and his nine grandchildren, all of whom adored him. 

In lieu of flowers, for those who would like to give a gift in Greg’s memory, please send donations to: Roof Above (www.roofabove.org/donate) or Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (www.secondharvestmetrolina.org/donate). 

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.