Dr. David Wesley Smith DO

Dr. David Wesley Smith D.O., age 84, of Lakewood Ranch, Florida passed away on Friday, November 19, 2021. Dr. David W. Smith was the son of Richard W. and Harriett R. Smith of Piqua, Ohio. Dr. Smith was born September 21, 1937 in Piqua, Ohio, Miami County, where he graduated from Piqua Central High School in 1955. He was very active in vocal and instrumental music as well as boy scouting where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout with three palms. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University and Ohio State University, completing his studies in 1958. He then moved on to Kirksville College of osteopathic medicine in Kirksville, Missouri, graduating in 1962. This was followed by one year rotating internship at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and a residency in orthopedic surgery completed in 1966. He practiced for one year in Columbus, Ohio before coming to Massillon, June 1, 1967 where he conducted the entirety of his professional career until his retirement in 2001.

Dr. Smith founded Tri-County Orthopedic Surgeons Inc. in 1971 when he came to Massillon. He formed the orthopedic surgery department at the former Doctors Hospital in Massillon. At that time, he was the first and only orthopedic surgeon in Stark County practicing as a D.O. He then founded the orthopedic surgery residency training program at Doctors Hospital in 1979 where he ultimately graduated 25 orthopedic surgeons under his watch. This was and still is the only orthopedic surgery training program in Stark County, Ohio.

Dr. Smith was very active in local, state, and national politics, serving as president of the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics in 1982, President of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons in 1996 where he was ultimately name Distinguished Osteopathic Surgeon in 2006. He has also served on the board of the American Osteopathic Board of Orthopedic Surgery for certification, the Board of the Ohio Osteopathic Association, and eventually the president of the eighth district Academy of Osteopathic Medicine. Locally, he served on the board of the Canton Museum of Art, the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, and was a very active supporter of the Canton Symphony Orchestra. He has also served as president of the board of Trustees at the former Doctors Hospital. He was president of the advisory board of Kent State University, Stark Campus, for six years and on the board for ten years. He was emeritized by Kent State University in 2008 for his role on the Stark County Campus.

In the community, he also served as president of Moonlight Bay Condominium Association where he lived for 15 years and was the founding president of Hamlets II Condominium Association in Glenmoor Community since turning over from the developer. He has also served as the founding president of Meyers Lake Preserve, a foundation that owns and operates Meyers Lake in Canton, Ohio dating back to 1994.

He was a former member of Brookside Country Club for 31 years, Shady Hollow Country Club in Massillon for a few years as well as Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California dating back to 1996. He a also served as elder of Christ United Presbyterian Church and is currently a member of the congregation of the Church of the Lakes in Canton. He was a member of the Canton Lodge 41 of free and accepted masons, Tadmor Shrine in Akron, Ohio and a member of the Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association. Most recently, he co-authored a history of American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics in 2009. He will be remembered as one of the pioneering orthopedic surgeons in the osteopathic profession for which he was recently recognized as the "Great Osteopathic Pioneer" by the American Osteopathic Association for contributions to his profession during his career.

Dr. Smith was preceded in death by his first wife, Tanzy J. Smith, in 1986, a marriage of 24 years which yielded two children, Douglas M. Smith of Palm Desert, California and Dyanna L. Smith of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He then remarried in 1987 to Lynn Burns Zimmer and became the step father of Jim (Kathy), Mike, and Brian (Jackie) Zimmer, also of Canton-Massillon, Ohio. He is also survived by four wonderful grandchildren, Zachary, Tyler, Matthew, and Makayla. Dr. Smith is also preceded in death by his brother, Charles Smith of San Jose, California. Charles Smith's wife is Margaret Jean Smith.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Saturday at Church of the Lakes United Methodist, 5944 Fulton Dr. NW, Canton. Interment will follow at Sunset Hills Burial Park. Friends may call from 5-8pm on Friday at Karlo-Libby Funeral Home and from 10-11am, on Saturday one hour before services at the church. Contributions can be made in Dr. Smith's name to the Stark Community Foundation at 400 Market Avenue North, Suite 200, Canton, Ohio, 44702, and the Shriner's Crippled Children's Hospital.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.karlofh.com for the Smith family.