Obituary of Abram E. “Abe” Smith

Abram E. Abe Smith, age 97, died on Monday, September 13, 2004 at Overlook Hospital in Summit. Mr. Smith was born in Weston, NJ and had lived in Manasquan, Mountain Lakes, Plainfield and Warren before moving to Summit over 20 years ago. He was a 1927 graduate of Bound Brook High School and he received a BA from Rutgers University in New Brunswick and a Masters Degree from Columbia University in New York. Mr. Smith spent 44 years in education and was well known in the tristate area for his success as a high school football coach. Many of his players excelled in college football and several went on to the pro ranks. He was Director of Athletics at Plainfield High School and coached the football team for many years. Prior to this he had also held positions at Manasquan and Mountain Lakes High Schools. He was one of the organizers of the Shore Athletic Conference. In 1965, while coaching at Plainfield High School, he was selected by The New York Daily News as its star football coach. The New Jersey football coaches selected Abe as Coach of the Year in 1964, 65 and 66 and was inducted into the New Jersey Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1987. Mr. Smith was a member of the Masonic Order F&AM and was a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Plainfield. He also was an amateur artist and enjoyed portrait and landscape painting. Surviving are his wife, Kathryn Brown Smith; his daughters, Toni Giamatti of Hamden, CT and Sandra Hannon and her husband Martin of Madison; five grandchildren, Marcus, Elena, Paul, Brian and Theresa and his great-grandson, Samuel. Funeral services will be held Friday, September 17, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd. Watchung. Interment will follow at Bound Brook Cemetery.