Obituary
Leon Franklin Smith, DDS, 71, of Ormond Beach passed peacefully on December 6, 2019. Born in Miami, Florida, Dr. Smith was the son of Franklin and Edith Smith. Dr. Leon Smith practiced dentistry successfully in North Jacksonville for over 20 years, and for over 10 in The Villages in Central Florida and honorably served in the U.S Military through the ROTC and Army Officers Reserves. He retired from dentistry in 2011 after receiving a double lung transplant due to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Dr. Smith’s academic history includes Stetson University 1970 – BS, Chemistry; University of Maryland 1977 – DDS; University of Florida Mastership Program 1997; and the University of Alabama Mastership Program in 2001. In addition to his academic career, he held several interesting jobs from cleaning swimming pools in Miami Beach, where he was raised, to doing estrogen binding research while in dental school, to working as a Diener in a morgue, and scrubbing in during Head and Neck procedures in the Emergency Room at the University of Maryland Trauma Center. Dr. Smith considers the best job he ever held to be his very first – being a seaman on a mailboat in the Bahamas in the mid-1960s. He was active in the Leesburg and Jacksonville Rotary’s where he served as President and was acknowledged several times as a Paul Harris Fellow. Leon’s personality will be remembered as thoughtful, caring, patient and FUN. Leon had many passions including modern art, comedy, music, gator sports and geography which he would share on his infamous “road trips”. Leon demonstrated his love for nature by participating in Audubon and Turtle Patrol at Matanzas Inlet. Left to cherish his memory is his life partner, Mary Kay Prout; twin daughters, Anastasia Sytova, husband Gennadii Sytov; Alexandra Tax, husband Johannes and granddaughter, Edith Tax; sisters, Suzanne Brownless, Tallahassee, FL and Nancy Ortiz, Georgia; and several cousins, nieces and nephews. His son Andrew predeceased him in 2014. Leon touched many people, young, old, family, friends and especially the medical staff at the Shands Lung Transplant Department, Gainsville, FL. His closest friends were steadfast and he loved them very much. Dr. Smith was a strong advocate for opiate addiction awareness and support. To honor his son Andrew’s memory, Dr. Smith established the Andrew Smith Scholarship for opiate addiction awareness and research at Stetson University. Please honor Leon Smith’s memory by donating to the Stetson Memorial Fund at www.stetson.edu/give or to the Lung Transplant Program Support fund. Gifts may be mailed to UF Health Office of Development, P.O. Box 100386, Gainesville, FL 32610. Please indicate on your gift that it is in memory of Leon Smith. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
Orlando Conference, 6/2019. Wanted to wear seersucker,