Leon Smith, Jr

 Leon Smith, Jr. was born on July 14, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, to proud parents Irene and the late Leon Smith, Sr.

He started school in the public school system, attending Borough Hall Academy Junior High School and Queens Day Preparatory High School. He went to Gannon College in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he played on the basketball and soccer teams. Later, he transferred to Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and studied Business Management.

Before joining the FDNY on February 27, 1982, Leon worked for the NYCDOT, the NYC Department of Sanitation, and also as a mental health therapist.

Leon loved helping people and knew by age nine that he wanted to be a firefighter. He often left the park to hang out at the local firehouse near his home. His father told his mother to let him go, saying at least he was safe there. Leon was always kind and giving; he once gave his winter coat to a classmate who didn’t have one because he had three.

Leon enjoyed working with his hands. He was mechanically skilled and built miniature racecars with working engines. He also worked on real car engines and became known as the “Firehouse Auto Mechanic.” He was a disc jockey with his close friend Rick Fowler, and they called themselves “The Slicksters.” When not working at the firehouse, Leon often played in charity basketball games. He was also a proud member of the Vulcan Society, an organization for Black firefighters.

Recently, Leon performed with his coworker Vernon Cherry, who is also missing from Ladder 118, for a young girl battling leukemia through the group Songs of Love. He was always happy to help others. He even appeared as an extra in the New York series Third Watch.

Leon was a close and loving family man. The New York Daily News featured him and his family in an article titled The Family That Plays Together on June 27, 1987.

Leon’s heroic acts were many. The Brooklyn Heights Press once told the story of how Leon helped stop a purse snatching, chasing the thief to the Brooklyn Bridge and holding him until police arrived. He earned the nickname “Physical Lee” for acts like this. His coworkers called him “Express” because he always wanted his fire truck—his “girlfriend”—to be first at the scene of a fire.

Leon loved his family deeply and was very close to them. He lost his father, whom he called his hero, on December 6, 1999. He often reassured his mother, telling her, “No, you haven’t lost your right arm, Momma. I’ll always be here for you.”

Leon leaves behind his mother, Irene Smith; his wife, Marilyn; four daughters—Nakia, Tiffany, Yolanda, and Jasmine; one grandson, Mekhi; his mother-in-law, Cathy Owens; two grandmothers, Claudia Smith and Lovie Woolridge; and his close friend Shelley Haynes, who was very important in his life.

He is also remembered by his brothers at Engine 205 and Ladder 188, along with many relatives and friends who miss him dearly.

— Irene Smith