Mr. James William “Jim” Smith, 88, went to be with the Lord on December 8th 2019. Jim was born April 7, 1931 to Andrew Jackson Smith and Eleanor Aileen Holland Smith of Kelly’s Creek. He was a longtime resident of Lincoln County in the Blanche Community.
Jim is preceded in death by his parents, a brother Mabron Holland Smith, and two sisters Annette Smith and Martha Chalfont. Survivors include his wife of fifty-seven years Betty Crowden Smith of Blanche; a sister Pauline “Polly” (Wayne) Falkenberg of Huntsville; son Drew Smith of Huntsville; daughter Melanie (Mike) Craig of Knoxville; granddaughters Hannah Elizabeth Craig and Julia Morgan Craig of Knoxville; grandson Chapman James Craig of Knoxville; and goddaughter Amy (David) Heflin of Harkers Island, NC.
Jim attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, completing an undergraduate degree in biology at Middle Tennessee State University. Following a two-year enlistment in the U.S. Army at Fort Dix, New Jersey, he taught for two years as a civilian electronics instructor at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, leaving there in 1957 for a forty-year career in training administration at the Army’s Missile Command Munitions School, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, retiring in 1997 upon the year of his first granddaughter’s birth. He served his community as a County Commissioner and School Board member and was a lifelong farmer.
Jim loved his family, was a lifelong member of Cash Point Baptist Church, and accepted Jesus as His Savior in the Kelly’s Creek Baptist Church, securing his eternal life and home in heaven.
The family will receive visitors at Ardmore Chapel Funeral Home on Saturday, December 14th from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., with the funeral immediately following, Pastors Drew Smith and Derrick Moose officiating. Those desiring to give a memorial gift can make donations to Cash Point Baptist Church, Ardmore, Tennessee.
