Alan C. Smith, 86, of Irwin, of Pennsylvania, passed away on February 4, 2023. His current residence was Chattanooga, Tennessee.

He was born on June 14, 1936 in Herminie, PA to Mary and John Smith. The youngest of five boys, he attended Sewickley Area High School where he played football, basketball, and baseball, excelling at sports his whole life.  After graduation Alan moved to Iowa where he worked and attended junior college in Fort Dodge, and was a member of their state championship football team. He transferred to Indiana State College where he played football and basketball, and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. There he met and eventually married JoAnn Bussard, also a Sewickley High alum, his wife of now 61 years.

Alan and JoAnn returned to their hometown where Alan taught math at his alma mater.  Sewickley High became part of the Yough School District, and Alan worked there his entire career, becoming a high school principal and eventually the acting Superintendent of Schools. He was the teacher who came early and stayed late to help you with statement problems in algebra. He was the principal who picked up truants on his way to school to make sure they got to class. He was the superintendent who traversed the rural roads of Herminie, West Newton, Yukon, Arona, and Smithton on snowy winter morning before 5 am to check on winter road conditions so kids could go safely to school.  Alan and JoAnn raised one daughter, Lisa, who attended Hempfield Area schools and became a pediatric surgeon in Chattanooga,Tennessee, an assistant professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee School of M edicine — Chattanooga Unit.

When JoAnn was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1979, he took a sabbatical to be by her side as he was until his last days. He returned to teaching after her recovery.  They spent summers at a cabin in Kane, PA, a place they built and loved, and Alan hunted and fished there often.  They traveled the country in RV ' s, driving to Alaska and most every state and provincial parks in the U.S. and Canada. Alan and JoAnn moved to Chattanooga in 2011 to be close to their grandchildren, Alana and Camilla, along with Lisa and her husband, (William) David Bruce. Alan enjoyed hunting, fishing, gold mining, and traveling; he collected coins and played cards; he loved to gamble, especially blackjack and craps, and play golf with his brothers and nephews given any chance.

Alan is preceded in death by his parents, John and Mary Smith of Herminie, PA; his four older brothers: John William of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Ralph of Greensburg, PA; Kenneth of Hialeah, Florida; and Fred of Hutchison, PA.; and his in-laws, Ralph and Rose Bussard, of West Newton, PA.

He is survived by his wife, JoAnn, for whom he increasingly served as caregiver for the past 41 years; his daughter Lisa, and her husband David Bruce; his grandchildren Camilla Zavala and Alana Zavala, William and Staci Bruce, and Henry Bruce, all of Chattanooga, TN; his nephew, Steven Smith and family, of Cedar Falls, IA; and his brother- and sister-in-law, Welden and Mary Lou Jones of Greensburg, PA.

A private ceremony has been held in Chattanooga with family, caregivers, and friends, and he will be buried at West Newton Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, cards and letters to celebrate his life can be sent to JoAnn at their home in Chattanooga. Donations in his honor can be made to St. Jude Catholic Church in Chattanooga, TN.

Arrangements entrusted to Hamilton Funeral Home 4506 Hickory Valley Rd, Hixson, TN 37434. 423.531.3975.