David George Smith

David G. Smith, age 76, died on January 5, 2019 at home. Dave lives on in the hearts and thoughts of his family and friends: wife, Karen (Felch) of 52 years; daughter, Jen Roach and her husband, Tim, who was like a son to Dave; brothers, Brad and Phil (Rebecca); friends, LeAnn Davis, Ruth Hobart and Mike Cosmo, Clare and Jim Davis, Marti and Jim Mackey; special aunt Ruth Hall; and his dog and granddogs.

Dave graduated from Baldwin Wallace in 1966 and worked as a chemical engineer, traveling the world for the companies that made Eveready and later Energizer batteries, until his retirement in 2004. He loved his job and the friends he met all over the globe because of it. Dave traveled to Singapore often and started a tennis league for fellow travelers at the YMCA.

He was always ready for the next adventure and to try something new. Dave was an avid runner, weight lifter, skier, motorcyclist, scuba diver, camper, and tennis player. In more recent years he played pickleball, golfed and joined a bowling league. He loved to travel and particularly enjoyed taking trips with Jen on their motorcycles. Dave thought it was much more important to worry about the chances he missed when he didn’t try something than failure.

Dave could fix or build virtually anything: cars, major home remodeling projects, decks, fences, and the home he shared with Karen. “Measure twice, cut once” was his motto. He laughed easily and had a perpetual twinkle in his eye, happy to share his dry sense of humor with a laugh or a joke.

Dave was devoted to his family and his church, volunteering for over a decade as the head of the Staff Parish Committee, head of the Administrative Council, and as an usher at Mentor United Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of the Western Reserve, 17876 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland OH 44110 http://www.hospicewr.org, PetFix Northeast Ohio, 885 East 222nd St., Euclid OH 44123 http://www.petfixnortheastohio.org, or Mentor United Methodist Church, 8600 Mentor Avenue, Mentor, OH 44060.

A service in celebration of Dave’s life will be held at Mentor United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 9 at 1:30 pm.

The family will receive friends beginning at 2:30 pm until 4:30 pm in Fellowship Hall of the church.