BRUNSWICK – John T. Smith, 86, of Dionne Circle in Brunswick, died at his home on Friday, October 21, 2011. John was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston, and was the son of Julia and Thomas Smith. John was married to Emma (Stebbins) Smith for 64 years. John and Emma lived in Brunswick for most of their lives together. Emma passed away in January 2010. John is survived by his daughter, Kit Cope, and son-in-law, Michael Cope of Sharon, MA, and son, John Smith, who had been living with and caring for his father for the past year, and daughter-in-law, Clara Smith of Hanover, MA; and by four grandchildren, Jeremy Cope of Washington, DC, Jason Cope of NYC, Stephanie Smith, of Hanover, MA, and Rachel Smith, currently a student at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. After serving in the Army Air Force during WWII from 1942 to 1945, John attended Hobart College from 1946 – 1949, graduating with Honors and a Bachelor's degree in English and American Studies. The following year he graduated from Boston University with a Master's degree in English literature. In 1958-1959, he won a John Hay Fellowship to Columbia University, one of ten scholarships awarded to secondary school teachers in a nation-wide competition. During the war, John was stationed in Iceland and England for 18 months. On his initial trip overseas, his convoy was attacked by German submarines 100 miles off the coast of Iceland in the area then known as Torpedo Junction because at that spot in the North Atlantic, convoys often split up to go to either Iceland, England or Russia. Over a year later, on his return from R&R in England, the British freighter he was on was pursued by two German subs near Reykjavik Harbor. The crew, troops and passengers on board spent seven days sailing up the western coast of Iceland toward the Arctic Circle to avoid being torpedoed or captured. John was an English teacher at Brunswick High School for 35 years before retiring as the English Department Chairman in 1985. In the early 1950s, he served on a state curriculum committee to create a model curriculum for towns in Maine to use as a guide. He was also elected president of the Brunswick Teachers Association for two terms. Shortly after returning from his sabbatical at Columbia University, he and another English teacher at Brunswick High, Robert Hart, initiated the first Advanced Placement program in the state of Maine. He was also, for many years, a reader and grader for the College Board and the SAT tests in Princeton, NJ. From 1971-1973, he was co-director of the Language and Linguistics Program at Brunswick High. John loved reading and teaching and had developed a passionate interest in math and physics in his later years, often engaging friends and acquaintances in discussions of The Big Bang, Relativity and String theories. He loved reading biographies of well-known and influential physicists. John also had a deep love for "camp", two cottages on Lake Cobbossee in Winthrop. Camp had been in the family for generations and he loved being there with friends and family. Visiting hours will be held Tuesday, October 25th from 6 to 8pm at Stetson's Funeral Home, 12 Federal Street, in Brunswick. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, October 26th at 11am at St. Charles Borromeo Church All Saints Parish, McKeen Street in Brunswick. Burial will follow in the family lot at St. John's Cemetery with military honors. Donations in his memory may be made to the Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., Brunswick, Maine 04011. Memorial condolences may be expressed at www.stetsonsfuneralhome.com.