James A. Smith III

JAMES A. SMITH III James A. Smith III, 83 passed away at his home in Stuart on April 8, 2007. He was born and raised in Detroit, attending Cooley High School. He enrolled at Duke University where he was an active member of Sigma Chi fraternity. Leaving Duke to join the Army Air Force, he was a flight instructor in B- 17's during WWII. After the war he returned to Duke, graduating in June 1948. He worked for Johnson Higgins Insurance Company until 1950 when he moved to Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida to help manage the family hotel. He also worked for L.C. Judd Real Estate and as a real estate appraiser. In 1952 he married Joan Bartlett and shortly after they moved to Winter Haven, Florida where he worked for a civilian contractor instructing USAF cadets in Basic Training. He also ran Concord Properties Real Estate with his wife. Returning to Lauderdale by the Sea in 1956 they ran the Reef Apartments, owned and operated Birdseye Aerial Photos and continued in the real estate business. He retired in 1993 and moved to Merritt Island, Florida, then to Stuart, Florida in December 2002. He is survived by Joan, his beloved wife of 55 years, his daughter Patricia Joan Smith of Milpitas, California and her husband Thomas A. Hamilton, his son Calvin R. Smith of Fort Lauderdale and his son James A. Smith IV of Stuart and his wife W. Marie Smith and four grand children, Jaimee A. Smith and James A. Smith V of Stuart and Manuel and Anthony Manna of Tampa, Florida. Services entrusted to Aycock Funeral Home, Stuart. Paid Obituary