Rubin Smith Founded Company Behind Pet Rocks

Rubin L. Smith, 86, died on Nov. 25, at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Conn., after complications following congestive heart failure. A Vineyard Haven summer resident, Mr. Smith was married to Island native Shirley Cronig Smith, daughter of Mae and Henry Cronig.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., he was a businessman with a distinguished career. With his first wife, the late Sally Smith, he founded the New York-based company Drummers, responsible for creating the Pet Rock craze. Among their many other projects their efforts in advertising, marketing and distribution helped make The Preppie Handbook popular in the Northeast.

A Brooklyn College graduate with a degree in economics, Mr. Smith did graduate studies in business and economics at the University of North Carolina.

He served in the Army during World War II, participating in the invasion of Okinawa. Trained in languages, he went on to serve in military government, acting as adviser to the nascent Korean government.

The Island home he shared with his wife was often filled with friends, family and Island visitors. He was supportive of Island charities and causes. Known on the Island as Rube, he became a summertime fixture, spending mornings sitting on the deck of the Cronig family compound overlooking Vineyard Haven harbor as he read the New York papers.

He was a member of Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center and The United Jewish Center in Danbury. In addition to his wife, he is survived by her children and grandchildren in California, Connecticut and Naples, Italy, and his nieces and nephews in Maryland, Arizona and New Jersey.

A summer memorial service is planned on the Vineyard.