THOMASTON — James Stanley Smith died peacefully Aug. 26, 2015, surrounded by his family at Pen Bay Medical Center.

Jim was born to Evelyn Petrie Smith and Stanley John Smith on July 25, 1941, in Rockland. He was the brother to Rev. Gerald Bradley, Kenneth Bradley Marion Smith Tarbox and Linda Smith.

He had a very special bond with his sister, Marion. They both loved a good adventure and kept the family close by, spending dinners, some vacations and all holidays together. At 74 years old, Jim was ready to go to heaven and be reunited with his parents and siblings.

Jim graduated from Thomaston High School in 1962 as the class president, never missed a class reunion and remained friends with many of his classmates.

Jim loved to work. He taught his children the importance and value of work ethic, and commitment to the job. He believed in being early for work, ready to do the best you could and keeping it fun along the way. He started working in his teens at Thomaston's Linekin's Market with Gary Clark, and the two of them served customers with welcome and humor. In May 1962, he started working as a pressman at the Courier Gazette. He loved the Courier family and considered them his family away from home. Sid Cullen, Ray Gross and Sid Orne took Jim under their wing. He joined the Courier Bowling Team and loved to talk about the "meet." During his career at the Courier, Jim saw approximately 5,930 editions of The Courier Gazette roll off the presses and out the door. Jim retired in 2001, as the production manager, after 39 years of service.

A well mowed lawn, wood stacked neatly in the garage, vegetable garden weeded and the house trim newly painted were all important to Jim. He loved home projects. He was both grateful and proud of his homes and took very good care of them. He had learned to wall paper from Fred Palmer, for whom he worked part-time. There was no project too big. He and brother-in-law Mort Tarbox laid floors that are still intact to this day. His dad was instrumental as Jimmy's mentor. Electrical and plumbing work and building the porch brought Jim much pleasure.

Jim's life was an adventure – a funny adventure. He had the gift of turning a regular day into a funny adventure. He was always looking for a way to make people laugh. He enjoyed being a jokester and thought it most amusing to pull a prank on some unexpected person. Everyone who met Jimmy had a funny story or two about him.

He started pulling pranks at an early age. At 6, Jim was hit by a car in Rockland and dragged 500 feet. He was in a coma for 10 days and then spent two months recuperating in Thayer Hospital. He and another boy would get into so much mischief with the nurses at the hospital that the nurses would call his parents and tell them to not bring him any gifts. Jim's parents commuted to Waterville every day.

He absolutely loved performing and making people laugh in the Thomaston Watts Hall Minstrel Shows in his teens. Jim was well known for his performances of There Once Was a Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, and continued to sing this at parties and to his children for years to come.

Jim continued to bring humor to people all around him. He was often seen with his fake teeth or funny eye glasses just to get someone to smile and to embarrass his children.

He was always purchasing gadgets. If there was a gadget invented, Jimmy owned it. A mood rock, watches that had all the bells and whistles and Christmas lights in the car that blinked going down the road were just a few of his many toys.

A few years back, when he moved into the Thomaston Knox Hotel Apartments, it didn't take long for his new neighbors to know what they were in for. He hand delivered to them an invitation to an 'unveiling' party at his new apartment the following week. He didn't tell them what they were unveiling – it was the talk of the building. What was Jim unveiling? He served a homemade pie with coffee and then had them pick door number one, two or three. He had put signs up on all the doors in his apartment. The special unveiling was a new shower curtain! The curtain he ordered special and was covered with all Maine animals – moose, deer, cats, etc. They laughed for months. Sid and Nona became his dear friends. From this new kitchen, Jim perfected his mustard pickles. He really liked to share them with his family and friends.

Jim was a member of the Rockland Elks Club, a Mason member and was also the president of Rockland Jaycee's during the late 1960s and early 70s. He had the honor of hosting Sam Yorty of California, who was seeking the U.S. Presidential nomination. Yorty visited Maine at the request of the Jaycee's, and Jim was so proud to serve as Yorty's escort both on land and in Yorty's plane.

Jim was baptized at the Thomaston Baptist Church as an adult, making the decision to accept Christ as his personal savior. He continued to attend church right up until the last few weeks of his life. He was a member of the Spruce Head Baptist Church. He loved the music and often performed in the cantatas at church and traveled to other churches to hear musical performances. He read his Bible daily and prayed for friends and family. He kept a list of folks to pray for in his Bible and as he thought their situation had improved he would cross the name off and add others. Some names would never be on the list again, while others would come and go, and some names never came off the prayer list.

After retirement, Jimmy worked as a greeter at Walmart with Donaleen Verge, and loved her laughing. This time his name tag read "BIG JIM." He felt like this job was one of the most important jobs he had done. Jim said, "It is my job to bring a smile to the customer's faces as they come through the door. I just love it when I can see someone coming in that is not having a good day, and I get the chance to change that for them. I get to help them smile. I get to show them that someone cares about them today."

Jim was given the Presidential Service Award for his volunteer time at the St. Bernard's Soup Kitchen and over the past few years, Jim found such pleasure as the Thomaston Food Pantry Director. He loved the folks he worked with, and enjoyed seeing all the families come in for food.

Jim loved his scooter and could be seen all over Knox County on a good day riding along the roads looking for his next adventure.

Jimmy is survived by his four children, Tammy Smith and her husband, Peter Blake, of Cushing, Daren Smith and his wife, Tracy, of Warren, Rebecca Emerson and her husband, Joseph, of Deer Isle, and Kristi Smith of South Thomaston. He is also survived by several grandchildren, Brooke Hallett and her husband, Steven Hallett, Lexie Dineen and her husband, Mike Dineen, Gilbert Boynton and his girlfriend, Brittany Gray, Daren Smith II and his girlfriend, Emily Benner, William Smith and Ashly Emerson. He is also survived by his great grandchildren:, Theodore Hallett, Sara Hallett, Gilbert Boynton Jr., and Jimmy was excited for his fourth great-grandchild due this December. He is also survived by his beloved cat, The General, and several nieces and nephews.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit Monday, Aug. 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland, where a B.P.O. Elks Memorial Service will be conducted at 6 p.m. A celebration of Jim's life will be held Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 11 a.m. at Thomaston Baptist Church, 212 Main St. in Thomaston. The Rev. Mitch Ross will officiate. Private interment will be in Achorn Cemetery in Rockland.