Francis Edward Smith, 83, of Brick Township, New Jersey, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 18th at the Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Brick. He was born in Down Neck Newark, New Jersey to Josephine and Edward J. Smith, and lived in Brick Township for the past 47 years. Francis was a proud alumnus of both St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, NJ and Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Fran loved playing basketball and baseball and is a member of the Mount St. Mary’s Hall of Fame. He also played basketball for the Iron Dukes. He worked as the Township Clerk for Brick, as well as held the position of Deputy Surrogate for Ocean County in the 1980’s. Francis ran for public office in Ocean County for both County Surrogate and County Clerk.

Fran is survived by Lorraine, his wife of 56 years, his two daughters, Kimberley S. Casten (husband, Jeffery P. Casten) of Brick, and Kathleen Leddy (husband, Paul M. Leddy) of Spring Lake, New Jersey, his five grandchildren Andrew and Amanda Casten, and Conor, Kaitlin, and Shayne Leddy, as well as his brother, Edward J. Smith (New Canaan, Connecticut).

Francis was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend to all. The visitation will be at O’Brien Funeral Home, 505 Burnt Tavern Rd., Brick on Sunday, April 23, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at St. Dominic’s Church on Old Squan Road in Brick, New Jersey on Monday, April 24, at 10:00 a.m.

God Bless You, Francis.