Donald L. Smith, Md

Donald Lewis Smith, MD,

born in New Castle, Pennsylvania on September 14, 1930 passed away on December 17, 2022 at the age of 92.

Don, born the oldest of five children to Loyal Wilson and Dorothy Kendall Smith, was raised on an 80-acre dairy farm near the township of Volant in Western Pennsylvania. The farm had Guernsey cattle, a few pigs and chickens, a small fruit orchard and other crops. Don’s strong work ethic was established at an early age, milking cows, baling hay, and planting and harvesting crops in the fall after school and on weekends. After the harvest season, he was occasionally rewarded with a trip to Pittsburgh to attend a Pirates baseball game. Don had an early interest in making money on the side, and tried his hand (not always successfully) at trapping muskrats to sell pelts, raising bees for honey, and raising turkeys. He also attended church every Sunday with his family, always sitting in the same pew.

After graduating from East Brook High School, he attended nearby Westminster College where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry in 1954.  He excelled in both baseball and basketball throughout his years in high school and college. After college, he earned his Doctor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1958 and went on to serve as Captain and physician in the US Air Force at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

In 1961 Dr. Smith joined a family medical partnership in Franklin, Pennsylvania in the days when doctors carried leather medical bags and made house calls. He did everything from emergency surgery to delivering babies. His passion was surgery and he wanted to maximize his family time, so he decided to specialize in ophthalmology. He moved to Gainesville, Florida in 1967 to complete his ophthalmology residency at the University of Florida.

Dr. Smith then moved his family to Ocala in 1971 and established a successful Ophthalmology practice that later became known as Ocala Eye Surgeons. He was on the forefront of cataract surgery using intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in the early 1970s, one of a select group of surgeons collecting and reporting data on safety and efficacy of this new procedure. Dr. Smith was an active member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Board of Ophthalmology, the American Medical Association and the Florida Medical Association. He also served on the board of directors of Marion Community Hospital.

After retiring from a successful 30-year career in medicine, he expanded what had been a weekend hobby into an equally successful 30-plus-year full-time career in the cattle industry. He grew and enhanced his registered Brangus beef cattle operation, Heldon Ranch, by actively pursuing and promoting the use of science and technology to measure, collect and report data, improving the performance of his herd over many generations. He was recognized as an important contributor to the growth and success of the cattle industry in Florida. He was a founding member of the Florida Brangus Association, served as President of both the Florida and the Southeast Brangus Breeders Associations and on the Board of Directors of the International, the Southeast, and the Florida Associations.

Don married Rae Marie Gamble Smith on December 27, 1984 and they had a wonderful, loving 38-year marriage until the end of Don’s life. Over the years, they enjoyed a love of family, travel, animals, the beautiful home they built on Heldon Ranch, a nice glass of wine and conversation with family and friends.

Together they shared 8 children, 14 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Kathleen Smith Halbig (Erik, Karl), Karen Smith (Willard) Owyeung (Chelsea, Rachel, Olivia), Steven Smith, Kent Smith, Kevin (Mary) Smith (Maggie, Amelia, Ruthie), Michaelynn Gamble (Jon Dean), Dean (Deneen) Gamble (Austin, Noah, Nick), Brent (Jodi) Gamble (Hunter, Garytt)

Predeceased by his parents and brother Robert Edward Smith, Don is survived by his sister Ruth Boyle, brother Richard “Dick” (Joni) Smith, and sister Carol (Walt) Matthews, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Over his 92 years, Don was an avid sportsman and competitor. He loved many sports and games including baseball, basketball, football, bridge, golf, fishing, hunting, darts…anything and everything at which he could compete…and win!

Perhaps most importantly, Don was an amazing husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, colleague, mentor and neighbor over the years to so many people and he will be greatly missed by all.

Memorial services will be held on Thursday, December 29 at 10:00 am at First Methodist Church, 21501 County Road 40, Dunnellon, Florida 34431. He will be buried at a later time with Military Honors at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.