NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. – Reuben Fairbrother “Bud” Smith, 93, passed away in New Port Richey, Fla. on April 11, following several years of declining health. He displayed a sharp wit and enjoyed a good game of cribbage to the very last.

A 60-year resident of Lewiston, he had relocated to Holiday, Fla. in 2002. He and his wife, Ada, who predeceased him in 1985, both retired from teaching in the Lewiston schools.

Born in North Anson on July 3, 1913, the eighth of nine children of Horace C. and Annie (Fairbrother) Smith, he developed the skills and ingenuity to “fix most anything” as he grew up, helping with the family milk and ice business.

His many nieces and nephews will miss Bud, who represented their last connection to that family farm that had started from a land grant to Joseph Smith in 1772.

A graduate of Gorham Normal School in 1934, he began his career of teaching industrial arts at Jordan Grammar School in 1938, and is recalled as an inspiration and mentor by numerous former students who elected teaching as their career.

He was raised a master Mason in the Ancient Order of Masons, Northern Star Lodge No. 28 on May 30, 1939, in North Anson, and was a member of Ashlar Masonic Lodge 105 and of Kora Temple in Lewiston.

During their shared retirement, Bud and Ada enjoyed traveling with their many friends from Lewiston and spending time with their grandchildren at their camp on Pocasset Lake in Wayne. He continued to take pleasure in using his resourcefulness in doing small chores or repairs to help make others’ lives easier.

Besides his beloved wife Ada, he was predeceased by a devoted friend, Evelyn Carroll of Auburn.

He is survived by his faithful cousin and caregiver, Emma Jo Smith of Holiday, Fla.; his son, Richard and daughter-in-law, Patricia, of Cape Porpoise; and his cherished grandchildren, Jessica Smith of Cambridge, Mass. and Damon Smith of Portland.