on june 20, 1894, naismith married maude e. sherman from springfield. the couple had five children: margaret mason (1895), helen carolyn (1897), john edwin (1900), maude ann (1904) and james sherman (1913). he was a member of the pi gamma mu and sigma phi epsilon fraternities, and regarding his spiritual beliefs, naismith is remembered as a freemason. maude naismith died in 1937, and on june 11, 1939, he married his second wife florence kincaid. naismith suffered a major brain hemorrhage on november 19 the same year and died nine days later in his home in lawrence, kansas. naismith was 78 years old. naismith is buried in memorial park cemetery in lawrence, ks.