Alex (A.J.) J. Smith

Alex Jeffrey Smith (A.J.) of Lakewood, OH formerly of Barberton, OH, passed away peacefully on February 17th after a courageous battle with cancer. A.J. was born September 22, 1991 in Aliquippa, PA and moved to Barberton in 1995. He graduated from Barberton High School in 2009 and went on to study criminal justice at the University of Akron. While he was in high school, A.J. joined the U.S. Army National Guard where he was trained as a military police officer and proudly served for six years.

A.J. Had a successful career in sales, finishing his career as an operations manager for NurseDash. His passion shone through in everything he did, from his work to his opinions on potatoes. He was a lover of sports, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Ohio State Buckeyes but his true sports love was the Cleveland Guardians. He was a beloved Twitter personality (@TheSmithuation_) whose last Tweet read, “ I just wanted one @CleGuardians”. A.J. had an infectious smile, was always the class clown and was a loyal and devoted friend, brother, fiancé and son.

A.J. Is preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Donald and Virginia Youngker, as well as his beloved dog, Kip. He is survived by his loving parents George and Lisa Smith; brother and best man Derrin; fiancé Sarah; four-legged best friend Tank; grandparents Harley and Joanne McCracken; his aunts, uncles and cousins; groomsmen Frank, Joel and Austin; and countless other friends across the country.

Calling Hours will be held on Wednesday, February 22nd from 5-8 p.m. at the Silva-Hostetler Funeral Home, 1199 Wooster Rd. West, Barberton. Funeral Service to follow at 8:00 p.m. Rev. Rod Grabski officiating. To honor A.J., the family encourages those attending to don their Steelers, Cavs, Buckeyes or Guardians attire. Preferably NO Browns attire.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to VeloSano, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195 or at give.velosano.org

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