St. Jude Medical Center Chaplain, 76, Dies : Obituary: Lawrence J. Smith ministered to patients at the Fullerton hospital for almost 47 years, until two days before his death.

FULLERTON — Services are scheduled Tuesday for Father Lawrence J. Smith, who was chaplain of St. Jude Medical Center for almost 47 years.

Smith died Thursday of heart disease at the home of his sister, Agnes McGrath, in Brea. He was 76.

Smith, a Catholic who had ministered to thousands of patients of all religious faiths over the years, continued to work at St. Jude until two days before his death.

Born on June 27, 1919, in Quincy, Mass., Smith graduated from Sacred Heart College in Pennsylvania. He attended St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto, Canada, and was ordained on April 25, 1948, in Boston.

Smith worked as a missionary among the native peoples of British Columbia, Canada, in the Diocese of Nelson. He also served as editor of the diocesan newspaper and bursar of Notre Dame College.

Poor health required him to move to California, where he was named chaplain of St. Jude. Officially, Smith retired on Nov. 1, 1986, because of a heart condition, but he continued to work.

A baseball and hockey enthusiast, Smith was a staunch fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels, family members said.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday at McAuley & Wallace Mortuary in Fullerton. A rosary will be said at 6 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church in Fullerton.

On Tuesday, Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s, followed by burial at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery.

Survivors include two other sisters, Esther Silvia and Kay Flanagan, both of Florida; a brother, William H. Smith of Florida, and a niece, Mary R. McGrath of North Carolina.