Obituary of Fred Smith

It is with great sadness that the family of Frederick Elmer Smith announce his passing which occurred on Sunday, June 23, 2024, at the Sussex Health Centre, Sussex, NB. Born in Sussex, NB on September 27, 1961, he was the son of Muriel (Murphy) Smith and the late Elmer Smith.

Fred as a child loved riding his bike and fishing with his friend and neighbor Philip. They would get home from school and away they would go on their bikes down to the river to see how many fish they could catch. Fred and his brother Leonard didn’t always see eye to eye as kids, and Fred loved to taunt and torment! He loved it when Leonard would get a new bike for grading. While Leonard went to change into his play clothes, Fred would take the new bike for a “test run”, usually crashing and putting the first scratch on the new bike and scraping himself up pretty good.

Fred graduated in 1980, the first class to graduate from the new Sussex High School. He then continued on to NBCC Moncton and took Heavy Equipment Mechanics for a year when he decided it wasn’t for him. He took more of an interest in the field of woodworking and decided to go to NBCC Saint John at the same time his brother took welding, so they traveled together with their stepfather Alan. Apparently, Fred only got to drive across town to NBCC once and the boys were late, so Leonard took over driving the rest of the time.

Fred became a great carpenter and remodeled his mom’s home from top to bottom in his spare time when he wasn’t working for Maurice Byrne. Fred was hired for just one week for Maurice, and it turned into his full-time career until his diagnosis with cancer 14 years ago. He then worked odd jobs around the areas of Norton, Bloomfield, Midland, Collina, and Pearsonville.

He was a wonderful man who lived a simple life. He loved socializing and could bring a smile to anyone’s face. If you were working on a project big or small, flooring, a roof, or even a shed, he always lent a hand, or maybe even showed you a better way.

Fred married Beverley, the love of his life, in 2004, and they made Collina their home, to be close to his family. Fred was a loving husband to Bev and a great stepfather to her children. He was a wonderful and helpful son to his mother Muriel and Alan, a loving and caring brother, brother-in-law, uncle, and great uncle as well. He was an incredible Grampy to all his grandchildren especially the youngest Beatrys, who was the apple of his eye. They had a very special connection, and if Grampy was having a hard day, all he needed was a visit from Bea to put a smile on his face.

Fred fought his battle with cancer hard to the end and he will truly be missed by all who knew and loved him.

A special THANK YOU to Extra Mural, his doctors, and nurses for their wonderful care through his long fight with cancer.

Besides his mother, Muriel (Alan Taylor), Fred is survived by his loving wife of almost 20 years, Beverley (Wheaton) Smith; brother, Leonard Smith (Lisa); step-children: Carla King (Malcolm), Brent King, and Bonnie Pinet (Justin); grandchildren: Bronwyn, Avery, Dakota, Dominick, Beatrys, Jessica, Jena and Jaden; great-grandchildren: Delilah, Liam and Jaxson; nephews: Zachary Smith (Kelsey), and Cole Smith; as well as great niece Abigal Smith. Fred was predeceased by his father Elmer Smith.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Sherwood’s Funeral Home and Life Tribute Center (506-839-2156) 18 Scovil Road, Norton, NB, where visitation will be held on Friday, June 28, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00PM. The funeral service will follow at 4:00PM.

Donations in memory of Fred may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. Personal condolences to the family and charitable donations may be made through: SherwoodsFuneralHome.com