Obituary of Dean E. Smith

Dean E. Smith, 85, beloved husband, father, brother, uncle and grandfather, passed away on Friday, February 6, 2026. Dean was the son of Erwin and Myrtis Smith.

He attended Chatham Township High School in New Jersey, then began a 45 year long career with Bell Telephone Laboratories at 17 years old, was drafted in the U.S. Army, continued working for Bell Labs on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands on our nation's missile defense efforts during the Vietnam War, and continued working on telecommunications until his retirement from AT&T in 2002.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 53 years, Sharon; his first son, David D. Smith and his wife, Dawn and their son, Mason; his second son, Steven J. Smith and his son, Zachary; his “little sis”, Carol Trimble and her husband, Don; his niece, Cindy Schneider and her husband, Greg and their two children, Daniel and Amanda; his nephew, Scott Trimble and his wife, Wendy and their two children, Nicole and Mathew.  

All arrangments are private and under the direction of the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, Freehold Township. For information, directions, or to leave condolence messages to the family,

please visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com .