Emerson Leroy Smith

Emerson Leroy Smith, fondly known throughout the Seneca Falls and Waterloo communities as “Smitty the Milkman,” died peacefully on Nov. 1, 2024, after brief care at Geneva General Hospital. He was 97.

The family wishes the community to remember Smitty as the vibrant, cheerful, and hardworking man that he was. There will be no calling hours, but rather a celebration of his life in the spring. Family and friends may attend a graveside service with military honors, on Saturday, November 16, at 1:00 p.m. at Springbrook Cemetery, Gravel Road, Seneca Falls, NY. If desired, contributions may be made to the Pathway Home, PO Box 516, Seneca Falls, NY, 13165.

Smitty was born on May 21, 1927, the son of Harry and Elvira (Swinehart) Smith. He was the eldest of 6 brothers living and working on a family farm in Seneca Falls. He was raised to believe in the virtue of hard work, helping others, and doing right by his family and his Country, all principles which defined his life. Never known to take a “day off,” Smitty filled nearly every moment fixing things, whether it was a toaster, a tractor, or a discarded washer he found left by the road. His favorite phrase was, “It’s still perfectly good!” And he would make it so.

Smitty was a proud Korean War Veteran, and a member of both the VFW and the American Legion in Seneca Falls. He rarely mentioned the war until very recently, when he began sharing stories. He kept the horrors he witnessed to himself, and only shared adventures and special moments, like when he and his fellow servicemen were addressed by General Douglas MacArthur himself. He mostly remembered the day he was sent back home.

He married Rose Marie Lama on November 22, 1952, and together they established their family home in Seneca Falls. Smitty worked at Souhan’s Dairy for many years. After its closure, he delivered for Upstate Milk until he retired in 1997. Even well into his retirement, Smitty kept a unique tradition of giving half-pints of chocolate milk to trick-or-treaters every Halloween.

Throughout his working years, Smitty had a second full-time job. In addition to his early-morning job making deliveries, he was also the owner of “Smitty’s Plowing and Tilling,” continuing long hours of work each day. With the help of his sons, he installed many, many new lawns and roto-tilled gardens throughout the growing community he loved.

Smitty will be sorely missed as he touched many lives. Though he tried to pass on his special mechanical knowledge to his sons, it was truly his unique talent and magical capability that made broken things come back to life and shine again. He was genuinely interested in everyone he met, helped countless people solve problems, and even brightened the day for those whose spirits might feel a bit broken. He did these things because he had a special gift – the ability to fix just about anything.

Smitty is survived by only one brother, Harry “Junior” Smith, of Texas, and his sister-in-law, Lucy Liberatore of Seneca Falls, along with three of his four children: Timothy (Diana) Smith and Terrance (Cheryl Walker) Smith of Seneca Falls, and Tammy Ann (Jack Finnigan III) Smith of Phelps. He loved his many grandchildren: Jennifer (Benjamin) Faro; Heather (Frankie) Mendez, Cory (Camden McArdle) Smith, Samantha

(Brian Leahy) Smith, Cecilia (John Bean) Smith, Leigh (Meghan Ryan) Smith, Joseph Smith, Justin Smith, and Patrick (Josephine) Churchill. He had several great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He is pre-deceased by his wife; his son, Thomas D. “Goober” Smith; and brothers, Louis Smith, John “Beanie” Smith, Lawrence “Hank” Smith, and Robert Smith.