WILTON – Sheridan S. Smith, 75, of West Farmington, passed away suddenly of natural causes Monday night, Aug. 8, 2011, on his way home from spending a day with his fellow horsemen, a job he loved.
“Special thanks to Bob Stevens for his friendship and dedication to Dad in his time of need during his illness.” ~His Girls.
He was born Jan. 11, 1936, in Lewiston, a son of Murray and Mary (Parker) Smith. He grew up in East Wilton, received his education in Wilton schools and completed his education in the U. S. Air Force. He was stationed in Altus, Okla., during his service time.
On May 18, 1957, he married Marjorie Stearns of East Dixfield. Sheridan was in the Air Force for four years. While in the service, he received the medal of honor for saving a buddy’s life. Sheridan joined the Farmington Police Dept. in 1963. Retiring after 28 years, he was chief for the last eight years. He then returned to work and served for 10 years at the UMF Public Safety Dept.
In 1963, he joined the Maine Harness Horsemen’s Association and held the positions of director, vice president, and president over the next 40 plus years. His number one interest and love were horses. He drove and trained his first race when he was 15, a horse called Battlepatch, owned by his parents.
He was a member of the Farmington Elks Lodge, held a chair and was a past exalted ruler and a past district deputy grand exalted ruler. He coached the Elks Little League baseball for 8 years. He enjoyed fly fishing, which he learned from his supervisor of the Farmington Police Dept., Ray Orr, on their annual fishing trips. He enjoyed 4-wheeling, snowmobiling, the Red Sox and cribbage.
He is survived by his three daughters: Sonia Fish and her husband, David of Weld; Paula Smith of W. Farmington; and Rebecca Fortunato and her husband, Christopher of Skowhegan; three grandchildren: Shain Smith and his wife, Jill, Megan Fortunato and Matthew Fortunato; three great-grandsons: Brenner, Teagan and Quinn; his sister, Gloria Cushing and her husband, Rick of E. Wilton; and brothers Albert Smith and his wife, Shannon of East Wilton and Stanley of Georgia, several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents and his beloved wife, Marjorie.
Family and friends are invited to call at the Farmington Elks Lodge, School St. West Farmington Friday morning Aug. 12, 2011 from 9 – 11 a.m. with services at 11 a.m., with Pastor Chandler Woodcock officiating. Following services, a reception will be held downstairs at the Lodge. All are welcome. Private family committal services at Lakeview Cemetery, Wilton.
Remembrance gifts may be given in his memory to the Farmington Harness Horsemen’s Association Scholarship Fund c/o Robert Cushing 452 Bailey Hill Rd. Farmington, Maine 04938. Tributes and condolences may be shared with his family on his memorial wall at www.wilesrc.com. Arrangements are in the care of the Wiles Remembrance Center, 137 Farmington Falls Rd., Farmington, Maine.
A friend, a neighbor, my son’s Little League coach, a valuable member of the community. He will be missed.
Do you miss me? Love you and will miss all those phone calls.
A great friend, a man with an amazing sense of humor, dedicated to his community, to the Elks Lodge, to his horses and to his family. He was a professional in the law community, and probably as honest a man as you’ll ever meet. Sheridan….I’ll miss you sitting on the porch on Marvel Street as I drive. I’ll miss you, but you will never be forgotten.
What a Great Man!!! A man of his words. A great past Chief of Police. A Great horseman. We wish his Faimly well. I will remember him well. What a great person! Our thoughts are with you all.
Randy, Diane and Kay Serino
Such a loss for our community. Thoughts and prayers to all of Sheridan’s family & friends.
Condolonces to the Mr. Smith’s family,
BTW, the part of the obit that said he received the Medal of Honor, that was a typo right?
Sheridan worked for me for ten years and was a good officer. He was such a nice man that when he went to
break up a fight between two students, he was knocked down by mistake and the two students stopped fighting and helped him up. I enjoyed teasing him about the bras that women threw at him as he walked between dorms. I will miss him. He was a good friend.
So sad to hear of Sheridan’s passing. I am not involved every day in harness racing as I once was, but I remember him well, and always enjoyed being around him.
My condolences to the family and friends who will miss him so much.
A good man.
So sad to hear. Great man
So sorry to hear of Sheridan’s passing. I remember him when I was a child. He was always kind, considerate, generous and a dear friend of my mom and dad’s. My condolences to his family and friends.
Sonia, Paula and Becky my deepest sympathy on the loss of your dad. He was a pistol and he will be surly missed by this community that he served so well. We loved him as much as he loved all of us.
Blessed are the peace makers.
My condolences to the family of Sheridan. I will miss his humor, one question does the S. in his middle name really stand for Silly??lol I will miss his talks about our common love, horses and anything to do with horses!
I wish I could be there to hug you all. He will be missed by all who knew him and he touched so many people in such a good way. Bless you all!