The Funeral of John Geoffrey Smart – Thursday 15th April 2021
Welcome to the funeral of John Geoffrey Smart (known as Geoff), taking place on Thursday 15th April.
The schedule is as follows:
Reception of the late John Geoffrey Smart into church on Wednesday 14th April at 4:30pm (Not live streamed)
Service is on Thursday 15th April 1:30pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Summerhill Kingswinford DY6 9JG
For more details contact:
Funeral Directors:
Wombourne Funeral Services
Smestow House
124 Bridgnorth Road,
Wombourne
WV5 8AY
(01902) 892635
info@wombournefuneralservices.co.uk
Funeral live streaming:
Grand Tour Media
0121 794 2339
enquiries@grandtourgroup.com
Back Up Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/Y3M3wtg8PWI
Back Up Facebook Link: https://fb.me/e/2n9cU9hcE
Sheila & Geoff on their wedding day, 14th July 1951
Sheila, Felicity & Geoff at Felicity’s Graduation
Order of Service
Donations
Geoff was a founding member of Headway Black Country and he requested that any donations should go to support their work.
Please use this link if you wish to make a donation. CLICK HERE
In Memory of Geoff – A Tribute from Headway
A Tribute to the Late, John Geoffrey Smart (better known as ‘Geoff’ to all who knew him) (10th July 1922 – 14th March 2021, aged 98 years).
In 1997 Geoff put a notice in the local newspapers requesting for anyone who was interested in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), to join him for a meeting at his home.
Geoff’s wife, Sheila was a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) survivor and Geoff had received help and support from a local branch – Headway West Midlands, based in Birmingham. He joined the organisation as a Trustee, gaining substantial experience and expertise regarding the complex effects of a brain injury, both for the survivor; and for helping to understand and ease the pressures this placed on their family and carers.
Geoff was mindful of the need for a professional and caring specialist brain injury service that a charity such as Headway could provide; and the importance of enabling all brain injury survivors, their family and carers, to be able to easily access such support within their own communities.
Geoff identified that there was huge gap in brain injury services across the West Midlands region, as there was no local Headway branch in the area between Birmingham, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire, i.e. the area known as “the Black Country” where Geoff, Sheila and much of their family lived. Hence Geoff, together with the five people who attended that first meeting, were to become the Founder Members of ‘Headway Black Country’.
Geoff was a great support and source of knowledge as a Trustee through all of the early, formative years of Headway Black Country. Starting as a monthly support group for ABI survivors, family, and carers, through to becoming a registered charity in its own right, Geoff’s substantial input as an active Trustee, enabled Headway Black Country to secure a building, and develop a range of services therein.
Indeed, in celebration of his outstanding contribution to the Headway movement, Geoff was awarded the Headway Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
Geoff retired from Headway Black Country as a Trustee in 2007, however, he continued to follow our progress with encouragement and support throughout the remainder of his years.
In 2017, Geoff was invited to attend as a guest speaker at our 20th Anniversary Conference, which was held at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park. A great man of humanity, humility, kindness, and ever-present sense of humour, Geoff delivered a most remarkable, and as always, an enjoyable memoir of his years and experience in supporting Headway.
Geoff, will be much missed by his family and friends, but also those colleagues and acquaintances from Headway who in turn, like so many who met Geoff, had the pleasure of also becoming his friends.