Brunswick- Rt. Rev. John H. Smith died on June 2, 2012 following a two year battle with leukemia. Born and raised in the Panama Canal Zone, John graduated from Balboa High School, Cornell University and the General Theological Seminary in New York. He also earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Hartford Seminary. Ordained in 1964, he served Episcopal churches in Falmouth, Skowhegan and Palmyra, Maine before becoming Chaplain and Head of Sacred Studies at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. He then served Episcopal churches in Middlebury and Rutland, Vermont, before being consecrated the Sixth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia. Following retirement, Bishop Smith served for five years as the Rector of St. Peter’s Church, Bridgton, Maine, retiring in the fall of 2010. Bishop and Mrs. Smith have lived in Brunswick, Maine since 2003, with a summer camp in North Waterford, Maine, since 1970. He is survived by his wife, Victoria Dawley Smith, to whom he was married in 1964, his daughters Allison Smith of Bedford, NH and Kirsten Hewes and her husband, Harry, of Denmark, ME; and Jon Roberts of Chicago, IL.; and four grandchildren: Meaghan and Benjamin Chandonnet of Bedford, NH and Ryan and Abigail Hewes of Denmark, ME.

The Funeral Service will be held at St. Peter’s Church, Bridgton, Maine on Thursday, June 7, 2012 at 10:30 am. Interment will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial or thank offering gifts may be sent to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 42 Sweden Road, Bridgton, Maine 04009 or to the Mid-Coast Hunger Prevention Program, 84A Union Street, Brunswick, Maine 04011.