In loving memory of
Jonathan Smith

• March 19, 1946
• -
• July 05, 2024

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On July 5, 2024, Jonathan Vern Smith passed away at his home in Ocala Florida, with his wife, Paula and his brother Kyle by his side. His death followed a brief battle with cancer. He was 78 years old.

He was born March19,1946 in Ketchikan, Alaska to Joy and Vernon Smith. When he graduated high school in 1963 he joined the US Army. In 1968, when he completed his service with the army, he moved to Ft. Lauderdale Florida and joined the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department. As a sergeant he was deeply involved in narcotics enforcement. When he retired from the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department in 1993, he joined the Attorney General’s office as an investigator. After several years, he joined FDLE as an investigator, and retired in 2006.

He is survived by his wife, Paula and her daughter Megan, his son Michael, his brothers Kyle and Tommy, his sister Sherry, and his grandsons, Jared, Adam and Vincent, and granddaughter, Olivia and great grandson, Jaxton. He was preceded in death by his daughter Kathleen and his brother Bucky and his parents.

Facebook quotes: “He was the best of the best; a good and honorable man and well respected by those fortunate enough to have worked with him; I will miss him dearly; a great man and a great cop; my best bud; one of the great ones; I owe my career to him; my best friend…”

John will be long be remembered as a loving husband, a devoted father and grandfather, a highly dedicated and decorated detective for decades, along with being a devoted friend and mentor to many. His endless hours of research on Ancestry.com has uncovered family connections that has brought together so many relatives known and unknown to each other. This has been both a lifeline and now a legacy for their ever-growing family trees.

Interment, with Military Honors, will be held at Florida National Cemetery at a future date.