Longtime Lewisburg Stylist and Marine Veteran James Martin Smith Dies

James Martin Smith, 74, of Mifflinburg entered into rest at 9:01 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, at his home. Born July 3, 1951, in Philadelphia, Smith served in the U.S. Marines before building a decades-long career as a professional hair stylist. He owned and operated James Martin Hair Salon in Lewisburg for 43 years until his retirement in 2020.

Smith's life was rooted in family and community. He attended Mifflinburg Church of the Nazarene and enjoyed time with family and friends, as well as interests in cars, boating, skiing and cooking. Burial will take place in Mifflinburg Cemetery, with military honors provided by local American Legion and VFW posts. Arrangements are being handled by Roupp Funeral Home, and memorial gifts may be made to the family.

For Union County, the death of Smith is more than a personal loss for relatives and friends; it highlights the broader role long-serving small business owners and veterans play in local life. For more than four decades, Smith's salon was a neighborhood fixture where people gathered not only for hair care but for social connection. The departure of such a presence through retirement or death affects local economic diversity and the informal networks of support that small businesses provide to customers and to each other.

Smith's status as a Marine veteran and the military honors planned at his burial also underscore ongoing community obligations to aging veterans. As Union County's veteran population grows older, access to veteran services, end-of-life care, and supports for surviving family members become increasingly important public health and policy concerns. The fact that Smith died at home points to the need for robust home-based care options and caregiver support in the county, especially for households managing chronic illness or end-of-life needs.

Religious and civic organizations that supported Smith, including his church and veterans' posts, are central to how Union County copes with loss and provides care. Residents who valued Smith's decades of service as a stylist, business owner and veteran may consider supporting his family through memorial gifts or by participating in services coordinated through Roupp Funeral Home.

Smith's life and passing trace a familiar arc in this region: military service followed by deep local investment through small business and church life. That combination has long sustained the social fabric of Union County, and his death is a moment for the community to recognize both the contributions of longtime local entrepreneurs and the policy choices that shape care and support for older adults and veterans.