Albert Michael (Mike) Smith

Albert Michael Smith (Mike to most, Michael to his grandmother and wife), He was born to Shirley Mae Smith and Albert Horace Smith in Orange County, Florida on December 8, 1951. He grew up hunting, fishing and playing sports. He played baseball, basketball and football, but finally settled on baseball and insisted for the rest of his life that third base was the best position on the field. At eight years old, Michael began learning the drywall trade from his beloved step-father, Harry Whitaker, the man Michael credited with teaching him how to be a man. Michael loved music and learned to play the guitar. At a very young age, he wrote a song called Flower Girl which he sold to a band out of Miami. The band recorded the song and it received air time on local radio stations. Later, Michael attended Lyman High School and married his high school sweetheart, Terry Lycans who gave birth to their daughter, Lisa. In his early twenties, Michael moved to Southern California and took his first job in sales, working at a car dealership. He added everything he could learn to his natural charm and charisma, and excelled. Over the next many years, he worked as a salesman, a Lot Manager and a General Manager for several different car dealerships, including Cal Worthington Ford where his favorite “dog,” Spot, was a monkey. After Michael left car sales, he sold water softening systems, home loans, phone plans, and loan modifications. He owned a water softening company called Distinctive Water Solutions and a drywall company called Second-2-None Drywall. In 1980, he met his third wife, Cynthia DeLeos with whom he had his two sons, Christopher and Nicholas. Between his 20s and 40s, Michael returned to Florida a couple of times, but always ended up back in Southern California. In 2010, Michael met his fourth wife, Aimee Carper and married her eleven months later. Michael always said, for him, it was love at first sight. In October 2020, Michael once again returned to Florida and settled in Sanford where he started Drywall 101. He brought his youngest son, Nick, and his wife with him, insisting the doctors in Florida would be better, people would be nicer, a person’s word would mean more, and the heat wouldn’t be as bad (because “humidity makes you sweat, and that’s good for your pores”). The family still isn’t sure about the heat, but considering how kind everyone has been to them, they are willing to take his word for it. Although Michael loved to hunt as a child, in his later years he recognized too much beauty in animals and didn’t think he would ever hunt again. He still loved to fish, but his favorite leisure activity was sitting on his porch and watching the birds as well as the squirrels, rabbits, and lizards who lived in his backyard, many of whom he named. On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, Michael had a heart attack. He was rushed to Central Florida Regional Hospital where he later died. He was 69 years old. Michael is survived by his daughter, Lisa; his sons, Chris and Nick; his brothers, Danny, John, and Barry; and his wife, Aimee, who he loved, cherished and adored just as she did him. He will forever be remembered for his strength, his kindness, and the amount of love he inspired in others. The family of Albert Michael 'Mike' Smith invites you to leave a message of condolence on the Tribute Wall created in his loving memory.

Albert Michael (Mike) Smith

December 8, 1951 - July 20, 2021