John R. Smith, who had retired as VP of Sales for Cincinnati Sign Supplies (CSSI)in 1996, died, most appropriately, on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2013, at age 90 at his home in Delaware, OH. In a career that spanned nearly a half century, John first served Sherwin-Williams as sales rep and technical paint specialist for three decades.
John entered the sign industry as a sales repr for Akzo-Nobel coatings before joining CSSI in 1979. He became a northern-territory sales rep in 1982. John was promoted to sales manager and then served as VP of sales until his retirement in April 1996.John was a trusted friend and confident of CSSI founder John K. Lamb and served as a sales consultant for CSSI for several years after his retirement.
John was active in the Columbus Area Sign Contractors Assn. (now COAS), as well as the Midwest Sign Assn. and the then National Electric Sign Assn. (now the Intl. Sign Assn.).
Born in Cleveland, OH on Valentine’s Day, 1923, John proudly served his country as a Marine in the Pacific during World War II, and fought in the infamous battle on Iwo Jima. John served for eight terms as Commander of the Raymond B. Austin Post of the American Legion and was instrumental, along with his good friend Bill Sheehy, in creating the Veterans Memorial Garden at the Delaware County Senior Center. John was a regular speaker for the Veterans Recognition and Living History Day program at Orange Middle School, as he shared with the 8th-grade students his recollections of his military experiences.