Edward S. Smith, a former Mineola politician, Mineola Chamber of Commerce president and civic leader, died Sept. 6 at age 92.
Smith served as Mineola’s mayor from 1975-1985 after a 10-year term as deputy mayor, Newsday reported. He later sat on North Hempstead’s Board of Zoning Appeals and the county’s Assessment Review Commission.
Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said that when he was a boy, his father brought him to public meetings so he could see how the village ran.
Then-Mayor Smith was a fixture at those meetings, Strauss said, and he came to hold him “in high regard.”
“He did a lot for this village and a lot for this community in general, and like many others who have gone before him, he’ll certainly be sorely missed,” Strauss said, leading a Mineola Board of Trustees meeting of his own Sept. 9.
Smith founded Edward S. Smith & Co. in 1949, which was responsible for many residential developments in Mineola, Newsday reported. He also started Mineola-based Smith & DeGroat Real Estate in Mineola in 1955, which his son Matthew runs today.
He was active and highly involved for 60 years in the Mineola Lions Club, which was named after him in 2000. The club raises between $50,000 and $75,000 each year to help people who are blind, Matthew Smith told Newsday.
Smith also led the Mineola Chamber of Commerce from 1986 to 1989, building its membership from 50 to about 200.
Smith lived in Mineola until he retired to Winsted, Conn., in 2003, where he died.
He was buried Friday at the Cemetery of Holy Rood in Westbury, following a memorial service at the Church of St. Aidan in Williston Park. He was highly active in the church, serving as one of the parish council’s first members, Newsday reported.
In lieu of flowers, the Smith’s family has asked those wanting to remember him to donate to the Lions Club’s Blind Fund.
Donations can be sent to 27 E. Jericho Turnpike, Mineola, N.Y. 11501.
