Obituary of J. Michael Smith

Dr. J. Michael Smith, 71, of Ewing, NJ, passed away at home after a lengthy illness on Thursday, September 28, 2017. Born in Columbus, OH, he was a resident of Ewing Twp. for 30 years. Dr. Smith attended St. Joseph’s University and obtained his BS in Biology in 1968, his Master’s Degree from Fordham University in 1969 and his Doctorate of Medicine from NJ College of Medicine in 1973. His internship and residency were completed at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians ,a member of the Mercer County Medical Society and the NJ State Medical Society. Dr. Smith was a full-time teaching professor for the residency program at St. Francis Medical Center, where he has practiced Internal Medicine for many years. Over his 41 years of practice in the Mercer County area he was the recipient of the Top Doctors of New Jersey "Doctor's Favorite Doctor" Award, Spirit of St. Francis Award, Professional Service Award, Attending Physician of the year-2015 , Mercer County Medical Society ”Academics in Medicine” Award and five time recipient of “Teacher of the Year” Award. Some of his hobbies included cooking, golfing, slow dancing and jitterbugging with his wife, and a true love of reading. He cherished the time he spent with his wife, children and grandchildren. Dr. Smith was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and colleague who will be deeply missed not only by his family, but the thousands of lives he touched throughout his career in medicine and the health care industry. Son of the late Edward and Olivia Smith; he is survived by his wife Patricia nee Howard Smith; his daughter Kirsten Smith; his son and daughter-in-law Brendan and Laura Smith; his grandchildren Aurora and Audriana Smith and Braeden Trainor; his sisters and brothers-in-law Olivia and Joe Benzinger and Judith and Daniel Lyons; his brother and sister-in-law Philip and Roberta Smith; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. Special thanks are given to his Holy Redeemer staff; his nurse Lynna, his home health aide Joyce, and Bob his physical therapist, the ICU/CCU/CTCU, ED and 2A staff SFMC and SLRC doctors, nurses, and therapists. The family would also like to thank those special people, family members and friends; Debora and James Powell, Anne and Mike Reap, Paula and Anthony Azara for making his days brighter. His colleagues and friends who kept his mind sharp, made him happy and took great care of him, Dr. Marc Seelagy, Dr. Arif Hussain, Dr. Susan Fuchs, Dr. John Vester, Dr. Sam Madeira, Andy McAloon, Dr. Dick Fiorelli, and Dr. Masoud Rezvan. And finally, to all the nursing staff at SFMC and his Medical residents’ past and present, "Do him proud", he loved all of you. A memorial mass will be held at 11AM on Saturday, October 7, 2017 in the chapel at St. Francis Medical Center 601 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08629 Relatives and friends can call for Dr. Smith on Saturday morning from 10-11AM in the chapel at the hospital. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to St. Francis Medical Center Residency Program 601 Hamilton Avenue Trenton, NJ 08629 c/o Dr. James Romano or Dr. Sara Wallach.