Smetona: Photographed Postwar Europe, Nixon, Early South County
Albert Smetona, a San Clemente fixture who photographed Richard Nixon and scores of other South County residents, died May 25 at age 75.
Smetona and wife Ardythe started Smetona Photo on Doheny Park Road in Capistrano Beach in 1964. By the time the couple closed their shop in 1995, they had amassed pictures of Nixon, film star Lon Chaney Jr., Dana Point officials and of South County’s growth from orange groves and open space to sprawling development.
Al Smetona photographed President Nixon in 1969 at El Adobe Restaurant near Mission San Juan Capistrano. More than 25 years later, the Smetonas celebrated their retirement with family and friends at El Adobe.
Smetona and his wife, who handled the business side of the shop, did personal work for the Nixons in the 1970s, including making reprints from Nixon’s trip to China. Among the couple’s mementos: signed cards and pictures of Nixon and wife Pat.
In the early 1990s, the city of Dana Point enlisted Smetona to take photographs of City Council members for display at City Hall.
Smetona, who served as an Army photographer recording postwar France and Germany, moved with his family to the Shorecliffs area of San Clemente from La Mirada in 1963. A Pennsylvania native, Smetona came to Southern California in the late-1950s after serving in the military.
Before starting the Capistrano Beach shop, Smetona and his wife ran a similar business in Buena Park.
Early on, the couple took orders for tuxedos, dresses and cakes in addition to photographing weddings and other events. Later on, Smetona became an avid videographer, producing tapes for clients and family.
Smetona, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, suffered a heart attack in early May and died from complications. Services were held last week at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Parish in San Clemente. He is survived by wife Ardythe and grown children Donna, Diane, John, Albert, James and Tony, as well as 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
,Michael Lyster
