Jonathan James Smalstig, born May 16, 1959, died June 28, 2023, after a year and a half battle with a rare form of cancer. He was only 64.
Jon was a 1977 graduate of Millbrook High School, Millbrook, NY, where he was an exceptional athlete playing both varsity football and baseball. In 1977, Jon won the National Junior Angus Showmanship Contest in Louisville, Kentucky, the most prominent showmanship contest in the industry. In 1983 Jon obtained his BA degree from Southern Illinois University. In 1991 he received his master’s degree in Meteorology from Mississippi State University.
His 210-page thesis was titled, “A Climatic and Synoptic Study of Heavy Snow Events in Northern Vermont, 1961-1990” was inspired by Jon’s love of The Valley, its community and especially Warren’s Fourth of July parade. Jon went on to work as a television meteorologist, anchor, field reporter and producer at several stations in the Ohio and New York metropolitan areas. He also became chief meteorologist at WTVQ in Lexington, Kentucky.
In 2016 Jon moved to Warren, Vermont, to live his dream of skiing all winter and playing golf all summer in and around Sugarbush. Jon’s friendly, engaging nature and his welcoming smile endeared him to The Valley and all who knew him. Jon loved to ski and was an exceptional golfer. Anyone who had the privilege to play a round with him was a better person for having done so.
Jon is survived by his father, Fred Smalstig of Naples, Florida; his sister, Jennifer Addeo and brother-in-law, John Addeo of Wellesley, Massachusetts; his nephew, Nick Addeo of Santa Barbara California, and niece, Megan Addeo of Mill Valley, California. Jon’s mother, Barbara Wright Smalstig predeceased Jon in 1992.
