Obituary of Robert Leo Smith
Robert Leo Smith “Bobby”, a lifelong South Plainfield resident, passed away suddenly on Monday, December 15, 2025.
Bobby was born on February 4, 1961, during a major blizzard. His father and neighbors had to shovel a path through two feet of snow for his mother to reach the ambulance that took her to Muhlenberg Hospital. As an infant, his parents, brothers and sisters affectionately nicknamed him “Blizzard.”
He was a 1979 graduate of South Plainfield High School, where he was a member of the track team, and attended Middlesex County College. He worked for many years at Truss Systems, Inc. in Lakewood, New Jersey and Adesa in Manville, New Jersey.
Bobby enjoyed fishing, growing vegetables in his garden, and outguessing the contestants on Jeopardy. He loved the ocean, riding his bike, and was the keeper of family memories. Most of all he loved his family; he leaves behind his partner Cheryl Melendez and her family, his daughter Heather Smith, her husband Gary Razvodovsky, his grandchildren Jade Andes and Charlie Alexander Leo Raz, his son Brandon Smith, his sister Karen Smith Thiel, brother Thomas Smith and sister-in-law Janis Machos Smith, his cousins and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. He also leaves his “favorite four-legged friend” Luna and sweet cat Lynx.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Cornelius and Rosemary Smith, his sister Janice Mary Smith, and his brothers Neil Robert Smith and Richard Dale Smith.
Family and friends are welcome to join Bobby’s family on Friday, December 19, 2025, from 4 PM to 8 PM at McCriskin-Gustafson Home for Funerals, 2425 Plainfield Avenue, South Plainfield, NJ.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church, 120 Kosciusko Avenue, South Plainfield, NJ, on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at 10 AM. Family and friends are invited to gather at the funeral home prior to mass, beginning at 9 AM.
Following mass, burial will take place at Hillside Cemetery, 1401 Woodland Avenue, Scotch Plains, NJ.
In his memory, the family believes the greatest tribute to Bobby, who was loving, gentle, and thoughtful all his life, is to cherish time with family and to show kindness.
In lieu of flowers, the Smith family has requested that donations be made in Bobby’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Hope 4 Paws Humane Society in Plainfield.