Obituary
Seneca Castle – Dr. Thomas H. Smithling passed away March 16, 2016 at home, surrounded by his family.
Family and friends are invited to call on Monday (March 21st ) from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at the Seneca Castle United Methodist Church. A private funeral service will be held at the convenience of the family.
The family requests no flowers.
Memorial contributions may be made to Ontario County 4-H (CCE-Ontario 480 North Main Street Canandaigua, NY 14424);
or to Ontario-Yates Hospice (Finger Lakes Visiting Nurse Service, 756 Pre Emption Rd, Geneva, NY 14456).
Tom was born May 1, 1946 in Martinsburg, NY to Helen and Charles Smithling. Tom graduated from Lowville Central School in 1963. He went on to attend Cornell University where he received his Bachelors of Science in 1968 and then a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1970. Tom began his veterinary career in Rushford, NY. He went on to practice in Little Falls, NY, where he met and married his wife of 43 years, Judith Robbins. Tom and Judy moved to Seneca Castle in 1973, where they established Kastiel Veterinary Clinic and where Tom spent the next 30 years practicing.
Tom was an avid gardener, hunter, and outdoorsman. He especially enjoyed hunting with his family on Tug Hill. Tom’s other great passion in life was raising, breeding and showing his beloved Blue Heaven Farm Brown Swiss cows. He spent countless years at county and state fairs with his children and grandchildren, sharing his passion for dairy cattle and the Brown Swiss breed.
Thomas is survived by his wife Judy and their children, Kevin and Doreen Smithling, Kerri and Brian Bartlett and Kortney and Brooke Smithling; his eight grandchildren, Robin, Morgan, and Amy Smithling, Thomas, Jacob, and Caleb Bartlett, and Emmett and Samantha Smithling. He is also survived by his brothers, Tim (Leueen) Smithling, Frank (Lisa) Smithling and sister, Pat (John) Yarina.
He was predeceased by his parents, his brother, Tex Smithling, and infant sister, Cynthia Smithling.