Eugene ‘Mickey’ Smith of East Quogue Dies November 11

Eugene Michael ‘Mickey’ Smith of East Quogue died peacefully at home on November 11, ending his battle with cancer. He was 71.

He was born June 23, 1951 in Manhattan, to James J. Smith Sr. and Jean Oliver Smith. After graduating from Westhampton Beach High School in 1969, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he served on the Air Craft Carrier USS Lexington for four years.

Upon his honorable discharge, he worked as a department manager for Waldbaum’s supermarkets until 1980, when he was a passenger in a car wreck that changed his life. Despite being declared paralyzed from the waist down, he never pitied himself or complained, his family said. He simply asked “Okay, what next?” In the weeks that followed, he regained feeling and movement in the left side of his body and began a rigorous physical therapy schedule to regain his mobility and strength. After 10 months, he walked out of the hospital with a cane and limited use of his right side.

He then started a house painting and wallpaper business. With his attention to detail, he and his crew painted many homes during the building boom of the 1980s. He later became the caretaker of a Dune Rd estate of a client he became close friends with.

He married Jane Haden and was divorced several years later.

Despite the challenges of paralysis, Smith lived a full life with his love of friends, football and baseball at the forefront. His friends would describe him first and foremost as a great guy. He had a witty sense of humor and a joke at the ready in any moment. He enjoyed cooking and playing cards. Before his accident, he was an avid hunter and the best shot in the family, his family said. He was a talented artist as well, they said.

He was predeceased by his parents James Smith Sr. and Jean (John) Silcox; brothers Samuel Smith and Kevin (Monica Doucette) Smith Sr.; and sister Jonam Silcox.

He is survived by his brother James (Barbara) Smith Jr.; sister Mindy (Jim) Darby; sister-in-law Annemarie Smith; nephews Kevin Smith Jr. and Michael Doucette; nieces Tara Lockwood, Lisa Case, Aime Smith, Stephanie Israel, Lexa Smith and Jeanette Frost; great-nephews and great-nieces Carlin and Keegan Byrne, Emma Lockwood, Dylan and Charlotte Doucette, Michael and Sebastian Molinaro, Pauline and Zachary Israel, Liam and Landyn Case, and Addison Frost.

Visitation will be held at Scott Rothwell Funeral Home in Hampton Bays on Friday, November 18, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral service will take place at the same location on Saturday, November 19, at 10 a.m., followed by burial at Oakwood Cemetery in East Quogue at approximately 11 a.m.