John E. “Jack” Smith, 74, originally from Chicago’s Southeast Side and the owner of the Auburn Supply Co. in Markham, died Tuesday of complications from colon surgery at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey. Mr. Smith attended Mt. Carmel High School, where he played right guard on the football team. He was drafted into the U.S. Navy and served as a surgical assistant in the Pacific theater. After the war, Mr. Smith went to work for a plumbing-supply business owned by the father of a friend from Mt. Carmel. Mr. Smith bought the business in 1969. “He was not the type of person who joined country clubs or anything like that,” said his son, Bill. “He devoted all his time to his family, his children and grandchildren, and to his business. He set everything up not for his own gain, but for his family’s gain.” Mr. Smith also is survived by his wife, Pat; two other sons, Jack and Jim; two brothers, Philip and Donald; a sister, Rosemary Munroe; and nine grandchildren. Funeral services were held Friday in Orland Park.
