Smith Hart, the oldest of 12 siblings of the Hart family, passed away yesterday after a battle with prostate and bone cancers.
Smith announced that he had cancer in January of last year and then a year later posted on Facebook that his cancer is now terminal and given around a year to live. That year was unfortunately cut in half and last month he entered hospice care.
The 68-year-old wrestled for Stampede Wrestling and World Wrestling Council and made a couple of appearances in WWE. In 1994, he appeared at SummerSlam during the cage match between his brothers Owen and Bret and then in 2010 appeared at WrestleMania 26 along with the rest of the Hart family for Bret’s return in his match against Vince McMahon. Smith also was at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony of his father Stu.
July 2, the day of his death, also happened to be Bret Hart’s birthday.
“My uncle Smith Hart will be forever in our hearts as unique, genuine and as real as they come. And we are proud of you for fighting so hard in your battle against cancer. We will miss you so much, Smith,” tweeted Natalya. WWE.COM also posted a short note on the website acknowledging Smith’s passing.