John Lewis Smith Jr. ’35

JOHN LEWIS SMITH JR., age 79, a retired chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and former chief judge of the D.C. Court of General Sessions, died Sept. 4, 1992, at George Washington Univ. Hospital. He had pneumonia.

Appointed judge of the D.C. Superior Court by Prcsident Eisenhower, in 1957, arid U.S. District judge by President Johnson, in 1966, Jack presided over several notable cases, including the illegal wiretapping of the home of National Security Council staff member Morton Halperin.

In a 1966 editorial the Post wrote: "Judge Smith has richly merited his promotion to the District bench. He is a conscientious hard working judge with a broad knowledge of the law and judicial temperament" as well as "an unusually high reputation for fairness."

He graduated cum laude in politics from Princeton, and from Georgetown Univ. Law School in 1938. John was an army lieutenantcolonel in the Mediterranean during WWII. He earned a master's degree in tax law in 1939.

Jack held positions of leadership in D.C. for the Republican Party, American Legion, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, and Boys Club. He was a member of several clubs, including the Princeton Club of Washington. He earned the Army Commendation Ribbon, our Class of 1935 Award in 1960, and received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Georgetown in 1985. He was an avid golfer and enjoyed summers at the beach with his large family.

His first wife, the former Madeline Catherine Cotter, whom he married in 1940, died in 1967. His second wife, the former Louise T. Parker, died in 1990. Survivors include five children from his First marriage, J. Cotter, Janet Smith Garabrant, John Lewis 111, Madeline Smith Lynn, Barbara Smith Fennell, and 15 grandchildren. To all of them, the Class extends its sincere sympathy.

The Class of l935