John Parker Smith, of Sweden, Maine, passed away on December 31, 2021, due to complications related to COVID-19.

He was born in Middletown, Conn., on June 24, 1939, to Louise B. and Leroy R. Smith, both deceased, and was raised in Middle Haddam, Conn.

John lived a very active and productive life. After graduating from East Hampton High School, in East Hampton, Conn., in 1957, he enlisted in the United States Air Force for four years and was forever proud of serving his country. While stationed at Hickam Air Force base, in Hawaii, as a jet mechanic, he also worked part-time at the base snack shop. This experience whetted his appetite for the food service business. After leaving the Air Force in 1961, John started his restaurant career in earnest with Friendly Ice Cream Corporation as a night janitor at a shop in Middle- town, Conn. A hardworking and diligent employee, John was promoted to the Manager Training Program and upon graduation was assigned to the Friendly Ice Cream shop in Swampscott, Mass. From there, he went on to open and then manage one of the highest volume shops in the Friendly chain at the Burlington Mall, in Burlington, Mass. In 1970, John was promoted to the position of district manager in western New York. In total, John spent 21 years at Friendly Ice Cream, the last eleven of which were at the company headquarters in Wilbraham, Mass. He served in the corporate executive ranks as the manager of Trainee Development.

After retiring from Friendly’s in 1984, he and his wife, Marilyn, purchased and operated the Spurwink Country Kitch- en Restaurant, a high-volume, seasonal restaurant in Scarborough, Maine. After selling the Scarborough business in 1987, John and Marilyn moved to Fryeburg. Needing a break from the day-to-day of running a restaurant, John became a licensed real estate broker and Marilyn a licensed realtor. John founded a brokerage business, a real estate development venture, and a hospitality management consulting business which helped private owners and served as a court-appointed receiver for financial institutions. All in all, over the course of his life John renovated and developed over twelve different properties and ran or consulted for various hospitality businesses throughout the state of Maine. John was a member of the board of directors of the Maine Restaurant Association and was an officer and four-year board member of the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, also serving as treasurer for three years.

The same zeal which John brought to his professional endeavors, he also brought to his hobbies, hot air ballooning and motorcycling. During the early 1980s, John became certificated by the FAA as a commercial pilot in hot air balloons, piloting his SKIMMER balloon up and down the east coast. In 1983, John and Marilyn shipped the SKIMMER to France, to participate in the International Bicentennial celebration of man’s first flight, in 1783, in Annonay, France. He was one of six pilots from the United States to fly an American-registered hot air balloon at this international celebration.

In his later years, John was very active in motorcycling and kept one of his many Italian Moto Guzzi’s garaged at his brother David’s house in Germany. This afforded him the opportunity to spend a number of visits over the years touring Europe, with particular emphasis on riding in Germany, the Swiss Alps and Italy, always with Maine license plates on his Moto Guzzi. For fifteen years, he served as the Maine State Representative for the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club. After logging close to 100,000 incident-free miles on Moto Guzzis, in 2007 he decided to leave motorcycle touring and switch to less risky pastimes, such as reading, crossword puzzles, writing and building the more complicated Lego toys which he would give away to others.

Beyond the details of John’s biography, his most defining characteristic was his love for people, demonstrated by his devotion to his family and his desire to help others through a myriad of philanthropic activities and community volunteer service. The true patriarch of the family, John worked tire- lessly to take care of his wife, son, daughter, siblings and niec- es and nephews. Even in retirement, it was his full-time job! John’s generosity extended beyond his family. He was always interested in helping others and giving back to the communi- ties in which he lived.

While living in Wilbraham, Mass., he was active in counseling jail inmates on Decisional Training, and while living in Fryeburg, he was very active in the newly formed Fryeburg Cemetery Committee, created to bring the town’s cemeteries back to their original, well-maintained condition. He was an ardent supporter of Harvest Hills Animal Shelter, and while living in Sweden, he was a member of the town Planning Board and a member of the Board of Selectmen. He also served on the Sweden Fire Department Building Committee, was a member of the Sweden Road Committee, and an organizer of the first Sweden Town Cemetery Committee. The work of this committee resulted in the Town of Sweden being awarded special recognition by The Maine Old Cemetery Association. Finally, John never took off his “Manager of Trainee Development” hat. He always said he was a “full time student in the university of life,” and he was intensely committed later in life to helping others by sharing the lessons he learned. John spent hours writing and publishing four booklets aimed at teaching young people how to handle their personal finances responsibly and also teaching people how to advocate for themselves in terms of health care.

John was predeceased by first wife, Linda R. Breece, who died in 1973, and his sisters Susan F. Johnson and Sally L. Smith.

He is survived by his loving wife, Marilyn H. Smith of Sweden, his brother, David L. Smith and his wife, Karen of Burnsville, Minn., and his sister, Elizabeth S. Treadway of East Hampton, Conn. He is also survived by his son, Alan F. Roy and his wife, Jennifer A. McGeorge of Winthrop, Mass., daughter, Jennifer J. Roy of Lovell, and grandchildren, Peter E. Roy of Somerville, Mass., and Michael G. Roy of Beverly, Mass., and Mariah D. Magee of Lovell, along with many cousins, nephews and nieces. John is also survived by Martha McLean, his friend and indispensable right-hand person, the many local folks he loved, and the many friends he made over the years all around the country and Europe. Despite the distance, they remained forever in his heart.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Chandler Funeral Home, 8 Elm Street, Bridgton, ME, with burial at a later date at Webber Pond Road Cemetery in Sweden.

For those interested, donations can be made in John Smith’s memory to the Lakes Environmental Association in Bridgton, Maine, the Bridgton Community Center, and the Sweden Historical Society. Online condolences may be shared with his family at www. chandlerfunerals.com