Continued from Kevin's Home Page
"Anytime there
was any large incident in the city, he would call me before I heard
about
it
so I wouldn't
worry," she
said. "He had called to say a plane had hit the World Trade Center
and that he was heading over there." Smith was born in Great Neck
in 1954, and graduated from Island Trees High School in Levittown
in 1971. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after he graduated and
spent two years stationed in the Mediterranean, his wife said.
A golfer, boater, camper and volunteer, Smith immersed himself
in everything he could, without abandoning some of his military
values, his wife said. "He was very kind-of-military about everything," she
said. "He took everything seriously and put 100 percent in everything
he did." Smith and his family spent many weekends volunteering
with the East Farmingdale Fire Department, Mastic Fire Department
and Mastic Ambulance Company, his wife said. "We did it all together," she
said. "The kids were junior firefighters and were a part of the
ambulance company. It was a family affair." Jerri Smith said her
husband had a profound influence on their children - Brian, 24;
Nicole Scochemaro, 23; Thomas, 22; triplets Christopher, Jennifer
and Josephine, 21; Vincent, 20, and Anthony, 19. "Vincent is in
the Navy, Thomas is a firefighter in Michigan, Brian is now an
EMT in the New York Fire Department and Christopher is in the Marines," she
said. "I think he always used the 'teach by example' approach.
They would just watch him." Civic duty is her husband's legacy,
she said. "The thing that helps me get through this is that I know
he did all he could do. He had a lot of training and loved what
he did. This is what we do, and if someone needs us, we have a
civic responsibility. You work for your community, and your community
will work for you. And we had a lot of fun."
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