Mr. Johnnie Ray Smith, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, neighbor, and
friend, passed away on June 1, 2026, at the age of 79.
A bright student, he was promoted to a higher grade at an early age and graduated a
year early from Marshall County High School in 1964.
Johnnie was drafted into the Army in 1967, and he completed basic training at Fort
Benning, Georgia later that year. From there, he received advanced training at Fort
Gordon, Georgia, where he graduated from Military Police School. In the Army, he
served as a Military Policeman in various locations in Germany, including Hanau,
Augsburg, and Garmisch. He particularly loved recounting his time in Garmisch, where
he enjoyed the mountains, food, and culture, and watched Olympic athletes train.
After returning from Germany in 1969, Johnnie took a job at Goodyear in Gadsden,
Alabama, where he worked for thirty years until he retired in 1999. With a life-long love
of driving and talking to people, he later worked for many years as a delivery driver for
Lowe’s, retiring again in 2015.
Johnnie is survived by his loving wife, Cheryl Burks Smith, his daughters, Julie Rothoff,
and Heather (Claude) Smith, and his granddaughter, Dabney Smith. In addition,
Johnnie is survived by his siblings, Jimmie (Debbie) Smith, and Lucy (Ernie)
Kuykendall, and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Laudra E. Smith and Maggie Beard Smith, his
brother, Billy Smith, and his son-in-law, Brian Rothoff.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
