Anesthesiologist and pilot John H. Smith, MD, 91, died of natural causes in his Indiana home Dec. 28, the Greenfield Reporter reports.
A member of the U.S. Army serving in World War II, Dr. Smith returned to the U.S. to earn his medical degree from Indianapolis-based Indiana University Medical School.
He met his wife after returning to the states. She survives him along with numerous family members.
Dr. Smith completed his residency at Indianapolis City Hospital, before he served as a general practice physician from 1955 to 1964. He became chief of staff at Greenfield, Ind.-based Hancock Memorial Hospital. He then completed an anesthesiology residency at Indianapolis-based Indiana University Medical Center.
He practiced anesthesiology at New Castle, Ind.-based Henry County Memorial Hospital and then continued to serve as an anesthesiologist at Indianapolis-based Community East Hospital, until his retirement in 1991.
After retiring, Dr. Smith provided medical care to the disadvantaged in Africa and in Indianapolis.
Concurrent with his medical career, Dr. Smith was an avid pilot, participating in general aviation from 1958 until 2015. He actively flew planes until the mid-1980s, and then administered flight physicials to private pilots until he was 89 years.