Michael P. Smith Jr.

Michael P. Smith Jr., a retired member of the New York Fire Department (FDNY) and a former longtime Slate Hill, N.Y., resident, died as a result of a 9/11-related illness on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, in Harrison, Tenn. He was 56.

Son of Julia Pulido and the late Michael P. Smith Sr., he was born on Nov. 29, 1959, in the Bronx. He grew up in the Bronx and worked as a union carpenter before entering the FDNY. He worked at Engine 45 and Ladder 58 in the Bronx until he was forced into retirement from a 9/11-related illness. He also served as a volunteer fireman for the Slate Hill Fire Company.

He enjoyed fishing and being around family. He moved with his family to the Harrison, Tenn., area after his retirement.

Survivors include his wife, Faith, at home; sons, Michael P. Smith III and Dillon Andrew Smith of Harrison, Tenn.; daughter, Natalia Jo Phillips and her husband, Joshua, and their daughter, Natasha Faith Phillips, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa.; mother, Julia; brothers, Brian and his wife, Pamela, of Slate Hill, and Frank and his wife, Maxine, of Sparta, N.J.; sister, Linda and her husband, Butch, of New Hampton, N.Y.; and several nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his father, Michael P. Smith Sr., on April 14, 2015.

Cremation was private. Visitation was held Jan. 5 at Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home, Middletown, N.Y. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 5 at St. Joseph’s Church, Middletown.

Burial with funeral honors by the FDNY took place in the family plot in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Middletown.

In leu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to FDNY Family Transport Foundation, P.O. Box 340949, Brooklyn NY 11234 (fdnyfirefamilytransport.org).