Charlie Smithgall Cause of Death

Charlie Smithgall, a former Lancaster mayor known for his tough anti-crime policies passed away on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. He was 77.

His wife, Debbie Smithgall, confirmed his death and stated that he died at 3:30 a.m. at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. She stated that her husband was suffering from heart problems.

“He loved being mayor. I don’t think there was ever a day that he said, ‘Oh, I have to go to city hall.’ He had the heart of the city in his heart. He loved the people. He loved what was going on downtown,” Debbie Smithgall said.

Smithgall, a businessman and pharmacist whose hands-on approach to running City Hall got things done but occasionally irritated City Council members, was mayor of Lancaster for two terms, beginning in January 1998 and ending on January 3, 2006.

Art Morris, the city’s mayor before Stork, graduated from McCaskey High School with Smithgall in 1963. Smithgall, he said, was a “true Lancastrian… He was a special and unique individual.