TOPEKA, Kan. — Mark Ralph Smoyer, president of Shared Hospital Services, Portsmouth, Va., died July 27 at his home in Virginia Beach, Va., reports the American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA). He had been diagnosed with cancer in late 2013.
He was born Aug. 13, 1951, in Allentown, Pa., to Ralph and Jean Smoyer, graduating from William Allen High School in 1969, and later attending East Stroudsburg University and Kutztown University.
Smoyer held several positions over a 20-year period with Hospital Central Services Cooperative (HCSC), Allentown, Pa., and was active in several industry associations, including serving as board member for the International Association for Healthcare Textile Management (IAHTM), and as a member of ARTA.
Outside of the industry, he was a Paul Harris Fellow with the Churchland Rotary Club, and served as board member, Community Garden chairperson and Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser chairperson.
Surviving are his wife, Robin VanderMeer; mother, Jean; siblings, Mike, Donna and Debbie; children, Steven, Jason, Beth, Matt, Bobby, Christopher, Jackie, Haley and Tyler; and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Ralph, and first wife, Marie Murray Smoyer.
ARTA Director Bill Moyer referred to Smoyer as his “mentor” when he first started as a supervisor at HCSC in 1981.
“Mark was one of the sharpest and most witty individuals I ever knew,” Moyer writes in a letter to Smoyer’s wife, Robin. “I could talk to him about basically anything and always valued his input. I kept in touch with Mark over the years and consider him a close friend.”
A celebration of life event in honor of Smoyer is scheduled for Aug. 9 at the Virginia Beach Resort, Virginia Beach, Va.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society and Boy Scouts of America. Online condolences may be made at www.Holloman-Brown.com.
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