Janice Smith, former Riverhead teacher, dies

For 35 years, while her husband Allen M. Smith served as Riverhead Town supervisor, town justice and other positions, Janice Smith was at his side, keeping him and their family on an even keel.

And, at the same time, she helped hundreds of people who crossed her path as a teacher and as a member of the Riverhead volunteer ambulance squad.

Janice Smith, 64, died New Year's Day after a lengthy illness.

The couple met at Syracuse University, where Allen Smith was attending law school and Janice Smith was earning her bachelor's degree in English literature and her master's in education.

She moved to Riverhead after graduation and they married in 1968. He started practicing law and became an assistant district attorney; she began teaching English in Riverhead High School and Riverhead Middle school.

Allen was elected town Supervisor in 1975 and served until 1980. He has been a town justice since 2000. He has also served on the school board, has been a volunteer fireman for more than 30 years, and is past president of Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.

And, their friends say, none of that would have happened without his wife.

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"What a lovely woman," said Emily Pines, a former Riverhead town attorney hired by Allen Smith to represent the town in a lawsuit against the Long Island Lighting Company. "In many ways, she was the epitome of the modern woman. Able to be a fabulous mother, have three wonderful sons, and be a dedicated wife while also having a great career as an educator."

She was, Pines said, the steady balance wheel to Allen Smith's frenetic whirl of activity. "Not just a balance, a support. She was a very strong person, very loving. When you have a partner like that, it lets the other person do other things."

As a couple, their interests matched. She was an environmentalist and an outdoors enthusiast. But, she had no interest in running for office.

One longtime family friend, the Rev. Fred Moore, now retired, remembers when Allen Smith was first elected supervisor and he was a new Methodist pastor. "Jan and my wife were very close friends. They shared a bond. they were both teachers and, even greater, they were both mothers of three sons," he said. "We would get together for impromptu suppers, or walk around town and talk about our ideas for Riverhead."

He remembers Janice as "a good, solid loving mother. And, she was a lady."

After Janice retired from teaching in Riverhead many years ago, she joined the ambulance corps. And, she often ended up riding in the back of the ambulance bus, giving care and sometimes just holding the hand of someone who was frightened and in pain, others in the ambulance company said.

Besides her husband, she is survived by sons Dakota of Brooklyn, Jacob of Aquebogue and David of Woodside, Queens; a sister, Susan Sayre of Katonah; and a brother, William Greenwald of Albany.

A visitation will be held at the Reginald H. Tuthill Funeral Home on East Main Street in Riverhead, 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. today. A funeral will he held at the Old Steeple Church at 656 Main Rd. in Aquebogue, followed by interment at Riverhead Cemetery.

Her family has requested that memorial donations be made to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Breast Cancer Research and Education, c/o BAIC, 300 E. 66th St., New York, N.Y. 10065