Wil Smith, Single Dad And Beloved StoryCorps Participant, Dies At 46

Published February 23, 2015 at 5:02 AM EST

Wil Smith, a single dad whom listeners first met through StoryCorps in 2012, died Sunday at the age of 46. A few years ago he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

Smith attended Bowdoin College in Maine in the 1990s. When he enrolled, he was not just older than the other students, but was also raising his infant daughter, Olivia, on his own.

Smith was a member of the class of 2000 at Bowdoin and, after getting his law degree, he returned to the school as an associate dean. There is now a movie in the works about his life.

(This conversation initially aired on Oct. 23, 2013 on Morning Edition).