He was born July 14, 1961 in Macomb County, Michigan to Gerald Robert Smith and Deanne Schuring Smith. He graduated from Fraser High School before attending the University of California at Los Angeles. He moved to North Carolina and began his career in the printing industry. He eventually opened his own printing business with his wife Sharon, The Smith Printing Company and served as the CEO. Following another passion in life, he owned and helped operate a deep sea fishing charter business out of Florida, Paradise Fishing Charters.

Everyone who knew Gary knows that he lived loudly and did things big. He was always up for a challenge, had multiple projects ongoing, and never turned down the opportunity to help someone out. He loved to travel and had recently accomplished a life-long goal of visiting all 50 states. He never met a stranger and was always looking to chat about fishing, hockey, printing, or golden retrievers, always cracking jokes along the way. Though he had many endeavors, he loved his family deeply and always put them first.

Gary was preceded in death by his father, Gerald Robert Smith.

Gary is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Sharon Smith; son, Aaron (Jennifer) Smith; daughters, Nicole (Allen) Tang and Tiffany (Mickey Timpone) Smith; son-in-law, Jason (Melina) Dixon; grandchildren Savannah Smith, Silas Tang, and Gwyneth Tang; mother, Deanne Smith; and sisters Susan (John) Horak, Sharon (Keith) Nowak, Sandra (Mark) Austin, Kathy (Kirk) Showers, and Kelly Hude.

A celebration of Gary’s life will be held October 16th, 2026 at Lake Pointe Hall in Colonel Francis Beatty Park from 5-8pm.

Carolina Cremation is honored to serve the Smith family. Online condolences may be made at www.carolinacremation.com.