James C. Smith

James C. Smith of Delmar, 75, passed away peacefully on Sept 17, 2024 after a prolonged illness. He was born Feb 06, 1949 in Lowell, MA to James C. Smith Jr. and Mary McNamara Smith. The family returned to Albany when he was 4 years old. He attended Our Lady of Angels, Vincentian Institute (‘66) and graduated from Siena College (‘70) with a BA in History, which was his passion. Jim served his country, completing Army ROTC at Siena (2nd Lt) and basic training at Fort Benning, GA, and assigned to the NYS Reserves until his Honorable Discharge in 1978. 

 Jim worked for NYS Dept. of Social Services in NYC for two years, earned a masters degree in social programs at Univ. of Tennessee (Go Vols!) and returned to Albany, working for Social Services until retiring as a Manager at NYS Children and Family Services.

 He is survived by his wife of 49 years Linda M. Smith, his sons Jeffrey Smith (Epping, NH) and Daniel Smith (Kingston, NY), his sister MaryEllen Hoenig (Sedona, AZ) and his buddy, our adopted black cat, The Reverend.

 Jim enjoyed live music, theater, hiking, kayaking, traveling (many oceanic cruises) with Lin and friends. But his true passion and hobby was reading, especially history. He was always with a book in hand, and one could always find him browsing the library or any bookstore, wherever it may be. His friends would agree the he was a talker and storyteller, and could hold up his end of a conversation, anytime, anywhere! He will be deeply missed.

 Friends are invited to call Friday Sept 27th, 2024, 4-6 pm at Applebee Funeral Home, 403 Kenwood Ave, Delmar NY. A Remembrance will begin at 5:30pm for those wishing to share their stories and memories about Jim.

 In lieu of flowers or gifts, those wishing to honor Jim can make contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association, Northeastern Chapter NY (www.alz.org/northeasternny).