John Robert Smith

John Robert Smith, 78, completed his mission on earth, Friday, November 28, 2025, returning to heaven, there to be “in the arms of the Lord,” safe and loved; “oh happy day” for him. He was born June 8, 1947 in London, England to Robert James Smith and Vera May Hurford Smith.

It was in England that he gained his love for soccer. His family moved to Toronto, Canada when he was 10 years old.

While in Toronto, John, 10 years old and his family were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John always did so well in school; so studious. He graduated from high school at age 16 in Toronto. He went off to college at Brigham Young University for two years before serving a mission in the French East Mission for two and a half years. After serving he returned to BYU where he graduated in January of 1971 with a degree in accounting. He later got his CPA certificate.

While at BYU he met the love of his life, Cheryl Ann Lee. They got married five months after they met on January 30, 1970 for time and all eternity in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. They were married for 55 years at the time of his passing. After his schooling, he got a job at a large accounting firm out of San Francisco, California where they lived in Sunnyvale for over 22 years. In 1993 the family moved to St. Johns where he worked for Apache County for over 20 years.

John loved his family of eight children, two boys and six girls. He is survived by his eternal companion, Cheryl and their children, Robert (Sunghee) Smith, Timothy (Tracy) Smith, Michelle (Tyler) Hillyard, Kimberly (Kevin) McPeek, Heidi (Bruce) Cosseboom, April (Travis) Duggins, Heather (Andrew) Winters, brother, Roderick Charles Smith, 28 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his daughter, Mindy (Tommie) Lamb.

John will be remembered for his love of sports, especially when his children played sports. All of his children were involved in sports and some played in high school. He was a quiet man except when cheering for his kids as they played sports. He also loved watching his Bay area sports teams; especially the San Francisco 49ers and the Golden State Warriors.

John loved the gospel of Jesus Christ and serving in the temple meant so much to him. The Lord must have said to him as he entered heaven, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

A funeral service will be held Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. Johns Stake Center, 2000 W. Cleveland Street, with visitation one hour prior. Interment will follow the services at the St. Johns Westside Cemetery.