Eric H. Smith

Eric H. Smith, 92, husband of Jean Wade Smith of 46 Argilla Road, Ipswich died Saturday November 20, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. Eric passed away at the Ledgewood Rehabilitation Center in Beverly following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Prior to Ledgewood, he had lived at the Residence at Riverbend in Ipswich for four years.

Eric was born in Newburgh, NY on May 21, 1929, the son of the late Ernest and Nellie (Nunn) Smith. He was raised in Cornwall, NY where he was a 1946 graduate of Cornwall High school and a 1947 graduate of the Storm King School. He graduated from Union College in 1951 with a BA in Economics. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa. While at Union Eric was very involved in sports and was instrumental in making soccer a varsity sport there. He helped form their soccer team and served as its captain in its second year. He went on to play semi-professional soccer in both Schenectady and San Jose.

Eric and Jean were married in 1951 and lived in Schenectady, NY, San Jose, CA, and Westport CT before retiring to Hilton Head Island, SC. He worked his entire career in public relations for General Electric, retiring in 1988.

Eric was a gifted athlete and enjoyed various sports throughout his lifetime. He umpired Little League Baseball and coached youth soccer. Eric took up tennis in his 50’s and played several times a week while he was a member of the Sea Pines Country Club. In retirement, he participated in the South Carolina Senior Olympics and won several medals in swimming, tennis, and softball.

He enjoyed playing bridge and loved music, especially Frank Sinatra. He summered for over 40 years in his lake front home in upstate NY. As his Alzheimer’s Disease progressed, music became the way to engage him. He enjoyed attending concerts at Riverbend, often sitting in the front row and joining along in singing all the songs.

In addition to his loving wife Jean of seventy years, he is survived by his son, Bruce Smith of Bethel, CT, his daughters, Nancy Nevius of Springfield, OH and his daughter, Jodi Smith of Ipswich. He had three grandchildren, Erin Nemec of Chicago, Scott Nevius of Cincinnati, OH, and Stephen Nevius of Mason, OH, three great grandsons, one great granddaughter as well as his brother, Lawrence of Bloomfield, CT. Eric was the brother of the late Winifred Mazzarelli.

Private funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home of Ipswich.

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