Obituary of Jack Smith

Jack passed away peacefully on November 1, 2020 at the age of 85. He is reunited with his beautiful bride Aggie, his loving daughter Kathleen (George) Fairgrieve, and his parents Tom and Catherine Smith. He leaves behind his daughter Lesli (Robert) Hackwood, his son David (Shannon), his son-in-law George, and his grandkids Gavin, Ian (Kimberley), Cameron (Jessica), Alex (Josh), Carter and Zaida, and his great grandson Logan. Jack was born in England February 9, 1935. Seeking independence and adventure he left home at the tender age of 14, working as a farm hand, eventually emigrating to Canada and settling in Fort Erie. Here he met his loving wife, Aggie and many friends with whom he enjoyed fun times and many laughs. He was a Jack of many trades, exploring an array of careers; working on the railway, insurance broker, realtor, school bus driver, landlord, waiter, bartender, until finding his passion in carpentry, a vocation he loved and excelled at. He seemed a man ahead of his times owning income property (with his friend Jerry), before it was fashionable on HGTV. Jack was in tune with healthy living and diet, never one for junk food, he often said ‘you are what you eat’ and ‘chips… you can’t just have one’ so mostly he ate none. A cold beer on the other hand, well you have to replace your electrolytes after a hard day’s work, or after a long bike ride. Jack was an avid cyclist clocking many miles and long rides. And when his kids were young they had the pleasure of accompanying him on the fondly remembered green banana seat. Inclement weather did not deter Jack as his stationary bike and a good sports game kept him pedaling, even in his last year. He recognized the value in composting and always had a fruitful garden. He dabbled in beekeeping, harvesting some tasty honey. He was also a good recycler, wrapping Aggie’s Christmas presents in newspaper, preferably the comics. Jack may have been considered a man of few words, unless he was telling a joke. Sometimes he’d launch into a story and string you along and not until the punchline did you realize he was telling a joke. He collected jokes like old friends. He always had humour by his side, helping him appreciate the good and fueling his positive attitude even when there were “bumps in the road’. Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and very proud papa. We can all agree Jack was a stand-up, honourable, sweet guy. And as a family man the greatest gift he gave us was his undying love and devotion for Aggie. He is now dancing with his bride and having a blue light with his daughter. His parting words, I am sure would be ‘keep smiling’.