My wife and I first met Mr. Smith about 25 years ago at the Giant on Route 3. At the time we had one young son and Mr. Smith couldn’t have been nicer to him. Mr. Smith took a great interest in him over the years, talking with us about Norte Dame football and giving my son newspapers about ND football. Over the years we would run into him, frequently, at different places around town, but it was usually now at the Giant on Courthouse Road. He always had a great story to tell and would always ask us about our oldest boy whom he knew the best out of our kids. Mr. Smith would’ve loved if our son had gone to college at Notre Dame, and was extremely proud of him that he became a pastor, as religion was also very important to Mr. Smith.
Our oldest daughter works at Panera at Cosner’s Corner and would always see Mr. Smith there talking to folks, usually law enforcement, for hours. But that was Mr. Smith. He could talk to you about anything and was always very nice about it all. No words can express what a great person he was and the impact he had on people’s lives.
We as a family will miss Mr. Smith and it saddens me deeply that I haven’t seen him in a while. But I’m glad that I knew him and I will never forget him and will picture him in the freezing cold with a Notre Dame sweatshirt on and shorts. Rest In Peace Mr. Smith.
