Frank Wood Smoot – Obituary

Frank Wood Smoot was born in Birmingham, AL May 15th, 1926 and raised in Eastaboga. After losing his father at age three, his mother, Willie Irene, worked tirelessly as a school cafeteria cook until they moved to Moulton, AL where he began the ninth grade. It was then that he met his life-long friend Harold McMillian.
He enlisted in the Army at 17 years old and served with the Army Core Artillery Unit that crossed the English Channel in Landing Ship Tanks to Normandy, France on June 8th, 1944, two days after the D-Day Invasion. As Patton’s army was moving quickly toward Paris, his Core Artillery Unit was attached to Patton’s Infantry. He was a vital part of the American Forces at the Battle of the Bulge, enduring the bitter cold of the Ardennes Forest in December 1944. He was awarded a Purple Heart after being wounded by shell fragments from a German 88mm anti-tank gun located on a hill above the apple orchard his unit was in at Neve Chateau. When his fellow soldiers pressed on to Berchtesgaden, Germany, he refused hospitalization and followed them.
After the war, he graduated from the University of Alabama as a Political Science major and began his insurance career in 1950. Following stays in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, AL he moved his family to Huntsville in 1962 when promoted as General Manager of Lincoln National Life for Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee. His customers loved the service he provided and frequently expressed their appreciation to his family. He said, “I always worked for my customers.”
The foremost joy in his life was his wife, Mary Orvin Smoot, who preceded him in death after their marriage of over 60 years. In her last years of failing health he showed his adoration staying constantly by her bedside. He was a dedicated father rearing his children on Woodcliff Road and continually looking after them through the years. He and Mary endeared themselves to numerous friends in the Covemont neighborhood. He especially enjoyed talking to the neighbors at the annual neighborhood party. In the last decade of his life the Teague family were honored to be counted among his closest friends. His infectious optimism, encyclopedic knowledge of Huntsville history, and genuine concern for the welfare of others are among the traits by which he will be most fondly remembered.
He departed this life on February 5, 2016. Preceding him in death, in addition to Mary, are his son, Andy and son in law, Nelson Larkin.
He is survived by his daughter, Mary Larkin of Nashville, TN; daughter Cheryl Hepler (Harry) of Huntsville, AL; son, Douglas Smoot, also of Huntsville; five grandchildren; Hank and Kristen Hepler, Tiffany Coleman (Jeff), Stacy Bright (Jonathan) & Tracey Poissot; as well as six great grandchildren, and his puppy, Precious, who was his constant companion to the end.
His life will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Friday, February 12 at Maple Hill Cemetery.