John Hall Smith II
John Hall Smith II, 69, of Warren, passed away unexpectedly on Friday evening, December 19, 2008, in the emergency medical unit of the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. Mr. Smith died of a rare and acute medical complication which was both sudden and catastrophic. Despite heroic efforts he expired in less than 10 hours after admission.
Born in Waltham, MA, on May 19, 1939, he was the son of the late C. Ruggles and Frances E. Smith. He was raised in both Waltham and Wellesley, MA. After graduation from Wellesley High School, he entered the electronics industry and spent a number of years working in technical capacities for Laboratory for Electronics and Sylvania Electronic Systems Division. Later, after relocating to Sandwich (Cape Cod), MA, he joined the Sippican Corp., a manufacturer of marine instrumentation and sensing devices involved in data collection and condition monitoring including measurements of depth profiles, salinity, temperature and current changes. Many of their contracts were for the U.S. Navy and some of the applications were concerned with submarine detection. John held various positions in their Quality Control Department including that of group leader during a 25-year period of employment until he took early retirement in order to relocate to Warren with his brother on May 19, 1994.
John was a person of multiple interests and enthusiasms including his heritage and the family genealogy. On his mother's side (who was Canadian born) to <MI>Mayflower<D> stock and founders of the First (Bay) Colony and even to General Timothy Ruggles, a Tory who had to retreat to Canada's Maritime Provinces with his family (and many others) at the time of the American Revolution. But, John was also especially proud of the Swedish heritage (more recent) on his father's side, whose mother, Dagmar Lindholm, was an immigrant from a small coastal town close to the Norwegian border.
Then there were the remarkable life achievements of John's grandfather, Dr. John Hall Smith, an eminent Boston area surgeon who used his personal fortune to found a university with both medical and veterinary colleges. Years later, Middlesex University evolved into the (now renowned) Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.
John's father, C. Ruggles Smith, also had an amazing track record of personal growth and attainments. An attorney and educator he had four earned degrees (two from Harvard including Harvard Law and two from Columbia including Columbia School of Journalism) and an Honorary Doctorate from Brandeis University. Most of his long career was in academia where he wore many hats including that of a university president.
John Smith was a good person, kind and trusting with a sweet soul. He was quiet and self-effacing in nature and could be easily misread and underestimated. He always placed a high premium on family ties and the maintenance of many longstanding friendships. He was an avid reader of fiction but also kept well abreast of local, national and international events. His many interests included cars (he had owned many), nature, R&R music of the '50s, firearms, animal pets, art, fossils, conservation and many cherished hours spent on cabin cruisers navigating the waters of Nantucket Sound and its ports-of-call on the islands -- it was there that he was his happiest.
John is survived by his older brother Richard Smith of Warren (with whom he had shared a home for the past 15 years); his nephew Derek Winslow Smith and wife Kim and children Hunter, Calli and Shane in Monroe, CT; and his niece Michele Tamar Smith and her children Christian and Sean in Norwalk, CT. Also, cousins in Maine and New Hampshire and beloved friends in varied locations.
A private interment at the Warren Cemetery will take place in May and a public memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2009, at 2 p.m. at the Warren United Church and will immediately be followed by a reception at the church. Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home in Waterbury.
