Washington - It is with sadness we announce the passing of Samuel John Smyth, at the age of 88, from Covid-induced pneumonia. Sam was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland where he lived until age 20 after graduating from Queen's University with a full scholarship in mathematics. When his mother passed, he moved to Toronto, Canada, to live with his sister, Kay, and her family. He then moved to California to get his master's degree from UCLA and worked at Northrop Grumman. After being on a short loan to Boeing, he permanently moved to Seattle where he enjoyed a long career as an aeronautical engineer and respected manager at the Boeing Company.

Sam and Shirley met in Seattle in 1974 and married in 1976 shortly after the accidental death of his beautiful son, Ryan. They raised their children together and were married for over 47 years. Sam is survived by his wife, Shirley and daughters, Adrianna Smyth, Brenda Flynn (Jim), son, John Smyth and grandchildren Devyn, Ryan, Andrew and Jack.

He will always be remembered as a kind and gentle man, especially to his children, and, as the family has been told repeatedly by his co-workers, an exceptional engineer. Sam never missed one of the kids' games and coached soccer for both boys. As an avid skier, he introduced and encouraged Shirley and the kids to ski at a young age and delighted in their successes. He loved running and ran many marathons over 30+ years, coming really close (2 minutes) to his goal of 3 hours. Sam's life was never the same after a car accident and subsequent post-surgery strokes, but we helped and loved him all the more knowing what he was going through. He will be greatly missed by his family and all the friends, co-workers and fellow runners who knew him.

A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, May 20 at 11:00 am at St. John Mary Vianney Catholic Church, 12600 - 84th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA.