John D Smith made every room feel a little warmer just by being in it. Warm, smart, and caring, those were the words his family reached for first, and anyone who knew his smile understood why.
He was born January 1, 1900, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and he built a life there and beyond it as a military officer. It was a life of discipline and order, but the thing everyone remembers is softer than that. It's his smile, and the way he made everyone around him feel loved.
Summers belonged to the water. His family loved to see him head for the boat every year, tackle in hand, ready for a day of fishing, the thing he loved most in the world. It was where he seemed most himself, patient and content, waiting for something to bite.
"It's never too late," he always said, and he seemed to live like he believed it.
His faith was part of everything he was. He was a devoted Sikh, and it stayed with him through every season of his long life.
He leaves his granddaughter Sara, his daughter Jane and her husband Dan, his partner Margret, and his two grandchildren, who he loved dearly.
The smile stays. Everyone who sat near him at the table, or watched him climb into that boat one more summer, will tell you the same thing. He made them feel loved, and they knew it.
Memories of them
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