A Celebration of the life of John Michael Smith “Mike” will be held on Wednesday, October 15th at 4 p.m. at Porter’s Funeral Home in North Salem. Calling will be from 2-4 pm. Mike joined his wife in heaven on October 7th. Born August 6, 1939, he was the son of Maynard “Ding” and Helen Smith. Mike represented his 1957 North Salem senior class as their president and was the oldest of his four siblings growing up on a farm on Ladoga road in North Salem. Mike enlisted in the Navy in 1960 and served as a sonar-technician second-class aboard several ships in the U.S. Pacific, Seventh Fleet. In 1964, he was recruited to play college basketball for the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, graduating in 1966 with a BA in Mathematics. After graduation, he worked for Pan American Oil Company in Metairie, Louisiana and later transferred to work for Indiana Bell – AT&T, Indianapolis, retiring after 24 years in 1992. Mike was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Sue (Stewart) Smith, whom he married in 1965 and is survived by his beloved son Brett Smith of Danville and daughter Dawn (Randy) Hoffman of Fort Leavenworth, KS; grandchildren Shawn, Caroline, Emma, and Tressa; brothers P.D. Smith of Elko, NV and Phil Smith of Bozeman, MT and sisters, Peg Williams of North Salem and Kathy Freimanis of Danville. You may visit our website, www.porterfuneralhome.us, to sign his online register and leave a personal message.
