Lifelong Staten Islander Kenneth J. Smith, 79, of Westerleigh, a loving family man and an avid sports enthusiast, died yesterday at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.
Born and raised in Mariners Harbor, he also lived in New Springville before settling in Westerleigh in 2000.
Mr. Smith graduated from McKee High School.
His first job was as a deckhand on the Elizabeth Port Ferry in Mariners Harbor. He then began working at the former U.S. Gypsum plant in New Brighton, but his career was interrupted by his military service.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1951 and was assigned to the Second Marine Division, Military Police Corps, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 1953, while attached to the 6th Fleet, he embarked on a Mediterranean tour of duty, which included Crete, Greece; Cyprus; Algiers, Algeria; Sicily; Italy; and Gibraltar.
While he was on leave in 1951, his brother arranged a double date with Louise Hugo. They went to the movies and later walked the boardwalk at South Beach. Mr. Smith asked her to write to him.
She replied, "You write first and I will answer." He did, and with two years left on his enlistment, they got to know each other through their letters.
After they corresponded for a year, their letters would end with "P.S. I love you."
Mr. Smith was discharged in 1954 as a private first class.
The couple married the following year St. Clement's R.C. Church, Mariners Harbor.
Mr. Smith returned to U.S. Gypsum as a rewinder in the perf-a-tape department and relocated with the company when it moved to Port Reading, New Jersey. He retired in 1988 after thirty-seven years of service.
A passionate baseball fan, he rooted for the New York Yankees.
Mr. Smith was a talented athlete and pitched with the Port Richmond Center League and in the Twyford-Muche League. He played football with the Mariners Harbor Buccaneers in the Tarzan Bell League and was a member of bowling leagues at the former Knotty Pines Lanes in Mariners Harbor and the former Columbia Lyceum in West Brighton.
He was a member of the Mariners Harbor Democrats.
Mr. Smith was happiest in the company of his family and doted on his grandchildren.
He also enjoyed building model ships and airplanes, photographing sites around the Island and Manhattan, and puttering around in the garden
Surviving are Louise, his wife of fifty-five years; his son, Kenneth; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
The funeral will be held on Tuesday from the Meislohn-Silvie Funeral Home, Port Richmond, with a Mass at 10:00 a.m. in St. Clement's Church.
Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.
Published in the Staten Island Advance on December 4, 2010.
Born and raised in Mariners Harbor, he also lived in New Springville before settling in Westerleigh in 2000.
Mr. Smith graduated from McKee High School.
His first job was as a deckhand on the Elizabeth Port Ferry in Mariners Harbor. He then began working at the former U.S. Gypsum plant in New Brighton, but his career was interrupted by his military service.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1951 and was assigned to the Second Marine Division, Military Police Corps, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 1953, while attached to the 6th Fleet, he embarked on a Mediterranean tour of duty, which included Crete, Greece; Cyprus; Algiers, Algeria; Sicily; Italy; and Gibraltar.
While he was on leave in 1951, his brother arranged a double date with Louise Hugo. They went to the movies and later walked the boardwalk at South Beach. Mr. Smith asked her to write to him.
She replied, "You write first and I will answer." He did, and with two years left on his enlistment, they got to know each other through their letters.
After they corresponded for a year, their letters would end with "P.S. I love you."
Mr. Smith was discharged in 1954 as a private first class.
The couple married the following year St. Clement's R.C. Church, Mariners Harbor.
Mr. Smith returned to U.S. Gypsum as a rewinder in the perf-a-tape department and relocated with the company when it moved to Port Reading, New Jersey. He retired in 1988 after thirty-seven years of service.
A passionate baseball fan, he rooted for the New York Yankees.
Mr. Smith was a talented athlete and pitched with the Port Richmond Center League and in the Twyford-Muche League. He played football with the Mariners Harbor Buccaneers in the Tarzan Bell League and was a member of bowling leagues at the former Knotty Pines Lanes in Mariners Harbor and the former Columbia Lyceum in West Brighton.
He was a member of the Mariners Harbor Democrats.
Mr. Smith was happiest in the company of his family and doted on his grandchildren.
He also enjoyed building model ships and airplanes, photographing sites around the Island and Manhattan, and puttering around in the garden
Surviving are Louise, his wife of fifty-five years; his son, Kenneth; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
The funeral will be held on Tuesday from the Meislohn-Silvie Funeral Home, Port Richmond, with a Mass at 10:00 a.m. in St. Clement's Church.
Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.
Published in the Staten Island Advance on December 4, 2010.
Lifelong Staten Islander Kenneth J. Smith, 79, of Westerleigh, a loving family man and an avid sports enthusiast, died yesterday at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.
Born and raised in Mariners Harbor, he also lived in New Springville before settling in Westerleigh in 2000.
Mr. Smith graduated from McKee High School.
His first job was as a deckhand on the Elizabeth Port Ferry in Mariners Harbor. He then began working at the former U.S. Gypsum plant in New Brighton, but his career was interrupted by his military service.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1951 and was assigned to the Second Marine Division, Military Police Corps, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 1953, while attached to the 6th Fleet, he embarked on a Mediterranean tour of duty, which included Crete, Greece; Cyprus; Algiers, Algeria; Sicily; Italy; and Gibraltar.
While he was on leave in 1951, his brother arranged a double date with Louise Hugo. They went to the movies and later walked the boardwalk at South Beach. Mr. Smith asked her to write to him.
She replied, "You write first and I will answer." He did, and with two years left on his enlistment, they got to know each other through their letters.
After they corresponded for a year, their letters would end with "P.S. I love you."
Mr. Smith was discharged in 1954 as a private first class.
The couple married the following year St. Clement's R.C. Church, Mariners Harbor.
Mr. Smith returned to U.S. Gypsum as a rewinder in the perf-a-tape department and relocated with the company when it moved to Port Reading, New Jersey. He retired in 1988 after thirty-seven years of service.
A passionate baseball fan, he rooted for the New York Yankees.
Mr. Smith was a talented athlete and pitched with the Port Richmond Center League and in the Twyford-Muche League. He played football with the Mariners Harbor Buccaneers in the Tarzan Bell League and was a member of bowling leagues at the former Knotty Pines Lanes in Mariners Harbor and the former Columbia Lyceum in West Brighton.
He was a member of the Mariners Harbor Democrats.
Mr. Smith was happiest in the company of his family and doted on his grandchildren.
He also enjoyed building model ships and airplanes, photographing sites around the Island and Manhattan, and puttering around in the garden
Surviving are Louise, his wife of fifty-five years; his son, Kenneth; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
The funeral will be held on Tuesday from the Meislohn-Silvie Funeral Home, Port Richmond, with a Mass at 10:00 a.m. in St. Clement's Church.
Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.
Published in the Staten Island Advance on December 4, 2010.
Born and raised in Mariners Harbor, he also lived in New Springville before settling in Westerleigh in 2000.
Mr. Smith graduated from McKee High School.
His first job was as a deckhand on the Elizabeth Port Ferry in Mariners Harbor. He then began working at the former U.S. Gypsum plant in New Brighton, but his career was interrupted by his military service.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1951 and was assigned to the Second Marine Division, Military Police Corps, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In 1953, while attached to the 6th Fleet, he embarked on a Mediterranean tour of duty, which included Crete, Greece; Cyprus; Algiers, Algeria; Sicily; Italy; and Gibraltar.
While he was on leave in 1951, his brother arranged a double date with Louise Hugo. They went to the movies and later walked the boardwalk at South Beach. Mr. Smith asked her to write to him.
She replied, "You write first and I will answer." He did, and with two years left on his enlistment, they got to know each other through their letters.
After they corresponded for a year, their letters would end with "P.S. I love you."
Mr. Smith was discharged in 1954 as a private first class.
The couple married the following year St. Clement's R.C. Church, Mariners Harbor.
Mr. Smith returned to U.S. Gypsum as a rewinder in the perf-a-tape department and relocated with the company when it moved to Port Reading, New Jersey. He retired in 1988 after thirty-seven years of service.
A passionate baseball fan, he rooted for the New York Yankees.
Mr. Smith was a talented athlete and pitched with the Port Richmond Center League and in the Twyford-Muche League. He played football with the Mariners Harbor Buccaneers in the Tarzan Bell League and was a member of bowling leagues at the former Knotty Pines Lanes in Mariners Harbor and the former Columbia Lyceum in West Brighton.
He was a member of the Mariners Harbor Democrats.
Mr. Smith was happiest in the company of his family and doted on his grandchildren.
He also enjoyed building model ships and airplanes, photographing sites around the Island and Manhattan, and puttering around in the garden
Surviving are Louise, his wife of fifty-five years; his son, Kenneth; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
The funeral will be held on Tuesday from the Meislohn-Silvie Funeral Home, Port Richmond, with a Mass at 10:00 a.m. in St. Clement's Church.
Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.
Published in the Staten Island Advance on December 4, 2010.
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