Merlin James Smith was born in Montrose Colorado on September 13, 1944 to Margaret Williams Smith and Merlin Francis Smith. From an early age, everyone called him Jim or Jimmy. Jim was the middle child of three—with an older sister Marilyn and his younger brother Paul. Jim’s father served in the Army and while deployed in the Korean War with his family in Hawaii, he adopted Jim’s fourth sibling, his brother Kim. Like many children in military families, Jim grew up all over the world, calling Germany, Virginia, California and Hawaii home.

As a young man in 1963, Jim met his future wife Sally in church youth group in Hawaii. On June 17, 1966, Jim and Sally got married. In 1967, they both graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Jim graduated with a pharmacy degree after five years of schooling. Jim and Sally have three children, Keely (born 1972), Keri (born 1974), and Kyle (born 1978). Jim opened The Medicine Shoppe in Shelton in 1975 after working in pharmaceutical sales for Eli Lilly and as a Pharmacist at Ralph’s Thriftway in Olympia. Jim owned and ran The Medicine Shoppe as head pharmacist for 33 years. He sold the pharmacy in 2008 and he and Sally had many wonderful years of retired life, traveling the world and enjoying their retirement home on Mason Lake.

Jim was not only a business owner and pharmacist in Shelton, he also took great pride in serving the Shelton community. He dedicated his time to working with Mason General Hospital, Shelton School District, church, philanthropy, and other areas of the Shelton community. Jim served on the Shelton School Board for 12 years from 1992 to 2003. Jim faithfully served and worshipped in two different churches in Shelton. Jim also founded Love INC in Shelton, a charity organization.

Jim and Sally moved to Harbor Heights, a 55+ community in downtown Olympia, on March 1, 2021. On February 24, 2025, Jim was diagnosed with Advanced Heart Failure. He was cared for and treated at Capital Medical Center in Olympia and then Tacoma General Hospital. He was released from the hospital on March 21 to be home with Sally as his loving caregiver until May 15, when he was moved to Capital Medical Center where he passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on May 16, 2025 at 2:55 PM.

Jim is survived by his wife of 59 years Sally, three children, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Jim is also survived by his brother Paul and sister Marilyn. The family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, please donate to Love INC and help support the Shelton community. Donations can be made at http://www.loveincofmasoncounty.org.