Thomas Charles Smith

Thomas Charles Smith, son of Lloyd Ezra Smith and Hazel Edith Devereaux, was born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York State^G, on 29 October 1943. He died aged 66 in Clinton, Connecticut^G, on 31 March 2010. He married at Poughkeepsie^G on 25 November 1964, Antonia Diane "Toni" Mancuso, daughter of Anthony Mancuso and Marjorie Sykes.

TSFA President

Tom Smith was a founder member of The Sackett Family Association and made a considerable contribution both to the research of the Sackett family history and to the successful formation and development of the Association. His own Sackett ancestry traces back, through his paternal grandmother, Edna Mae Sackett, to Simon Sackett (1595–1635), the colonist forefather of the major branch of Sacketts in America.
     Tom served as a committee member of the Association for many years, eventually taking on the presidency in May 2009. He was instrumental in setting up the DNA testing project in 2004 and continued to administer the scheme. Tom supported enthusiastically the Sackett family reunions, most recently at the Thanet, Kent, gathering in September 2008, when his courteous manner and gentle dry sense of humor won the hearts of friends old and new.

The following is extracted from an obituary in The Middletown Press (see Notes & Citations below for link to full text)

Obituary

Tom graduated from F. D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1964, where he met and married Antonia "Toni" D. Mancuso.
     After moving to Connecticut in 1968, Tom was employed by the F.J. Dahill Structural Restoration and Renovation Company in New Haven for 42 years. He worked as an estimator and special projects manager, also representing his company as an officer in many trade organizations locally and nationally. In Clinton, he served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, Republican Town Committee, and also served as coordinator for the 2nd district congressman for two of his election cycles. Tom played an instrumental part in the construction of the new Clinton Police Headquarters. He was a member of the Clinton Historical Society. He attended the University of New Haven, studying business administration and history. He was also proud to serve with the Sons of the Union Veterans and the Sons of the American Revolution. Tom was very much a genealogist, researching with The Sackett Family Association, and had coordinated trips to Salt Lake City, Boston, and England, where the family originated. He was also DNA project manager, registrar, vice president, and, in 2009, became president of the association. He belonged to the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, National Genealogical Society and also sat on the Board of Trustees at the Godfrey Library Family History Center in Middletown; he also belonged to the Society of the Middletown First Settlers Descendants (1650-1700), and the Descendants of The Mayflower Society. He was affiliated with the Elks Club in Westbrook.
     Tom served in the U.S. Navy. He later became a scuba dive master and had certification as a master diver. He was a keen gardener, and was proud of the log home that he built as a family project in 1987.^1,2