James T. Smith

James Terrell Smith, III, 51, of Columbia, SC, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 27, 2017. Jim was born in Aiken, SC to Ora Sue and James "Terry" Terrell Smith, Jr. Jim spent his youth in Aiken with his parents and younger brother, George W. Smith. His family moved to Cayce, South Carolina in 1976. After graduating Brookland-Cayce High School, in 1983, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps where he achieved the rank of Sergeant within two years. After leaving active service, he attended the University of South Carolina. He later became an officer, and a detective, with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. As a consultant Network Specialist and Software Trainer, Jim trained attorneys from around the state of South Carolina, and parts of North Carolina and Georgia, for Lawyers Cooperative Publishing. Also as a private consultant he trained IT personnel from the U.S. military and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. Until his retirement in 2015, Jim was a Computer Network Instructor and Continuing Education Program Coordinator at Midland's Technical College. During his fifteen year tenure with Midlands Technical College, he taught thousands of IT professionals and spent many hours assisting his students and providing them and others with career counseling. Jim was not a man of mild enthusiasms. He was well known for his vehement teaching style, his stickman Powerpoint and chalk instructional presentations, and the sincere and quirky handmade awards and trophies he personalized and presented to his students at graduation. A natural leader, Jim served as Chairman of Midlands Tech Faculty Council and was a pioneer in establishing many important partnerships for the college. Most notably Jim was instrumental in leading the Blue Cross Blue Shield helpdesk technicians training, working closely with SC Works, Quickjobs and GRIT scholarship programs, as well as Veteran grants. Jim was a certified Microsoft Trainer. He held certifications in many areas and received many outstanding teacher awards during his loyal service. Many students lives as well as his colleagues have been enriched by his dynamic IT presentations and his upbeat task driven humor. At the age of 46, Jim, a healthy and athletic never-smoker, was diagnosed with metastatic Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. After being told he had a five percent chance of living five years, he replied, "Five percent is better than zero percent." Jim did survive his diagnosis five years. His survival was made possible through clinical trial participation at MD Anderson in Houston and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His clinical trial participation not only extended his own life, but he also helped to extend the lives of others with the disease. To his wife of twenty-six years, Salli-Denise Smith, he gifts his joy for life. To each of his three children and his grandson, Berley Livingston Rister IV, he leaves one-fourth of his heart. To each of his children he bequeaths his humor, his playful and clever wit, and four lifetimes of laughter shared while playing monster, computer games, board games, the occasional paintball battle, and reading. And also, to his daughter Brittany C. R. Rister, he leaves his commanding personality and his talent for funny quick quips; to his daughter Mary Elizabeth A. Smith, he bestows his creativity, his love of reading and visual storytelling, and his George Strait CDs; to his son James "Jacob" T. Smith IV, he gifts his curiosity, his love of learning, his laugh, and a grin that can melt a mother's heart; and, to his mother Ora Sue Smith, he sends all his love and an endless amount of thankfulness for making him feel special and important, and for making him believe he was capable of doing anything and everything. His wife and their three children wish to thank… Dr. Rebecca Suk Heist and Lisa L. Stober, BSN of Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Kwok-Kin Wong of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for their devotion to their patients, their compassion, and their unyielding efforts; The Lazarex Cancer Foundation who assisted Jim, and many others like Jim, survive cancer far beyond known expectation; Dr. Asheesh Lal of Lexington Oncology Associates and the oncology nurses at Lexington Medical Center for their kindness, attention, and great care. Lung cancer can happen to anyone with lungs. Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and world-wide. Never-smokers account for between 10 and 15% of lung cancer diagnoses in the United States, and up to 50% world-wide, and these percentages are increasing yearly. Through education, prevention, early detection, continued research, clinical trial participation, and continuing environmental improvements the worsening statistics can be reduced. Our family is thankful for every day and every life-extending opportunity we shared these past five years. We pray the progress seen these past months continues until no loved-one is lost to lung cancer. ~ A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 4, 2017 at Thompson Funeral Home of West Columbia, 200 State Street, in West Columbia, beginning at 1:00 pm. Committal prayers and interment will follow at Elmwood Cemetery. Those wishing to remember Jim with a donation please consider contributing to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation (lazarex.org), Massachusetts General Hospital (giving.massgeneral.org/cancer/), or the Wounded Warriors Project (woundedwarriorproject.org).