Roll Call Tribute
Robert "Bob" Smith '51 June 17, 2016 12:36 PM updated: June 17, 2016 12:49 PM
Hillier Funeral Home obituary
Hillier Funeral Home - College Station
4080 State Hwy 6 South
College Station, TX 77845
(979) 985-2060
Robert Lee Smith
June 24, 1929 - June 11, 2016
“Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies
They are the boys who show the real old fight
That good old Aggie spirit thrills us
And makes us yell and yell and yell…”
-Aggie War Hymn
Robert Lee “Bob” Smith
Aggie proud through and through, Robert Lee Smith—our husband, father and faithful friend—passed away Saturday, June 11, 2016, just two weeks before his eighty-seventh birthday. Ever adventurous, this loving Christian man was as fun as he was faithful, and his loss is keenly felt by those he left behind.
Bob was raised on Galveston Island after having been born there on June 24, 1929—near the dawn of the Great Depression—to Sidney Newton Smith and Willie Gertrude Cloyd Smith, a railroad dispatcher and homemaker, respectively. Also part of the Smith family were Bob’s two older brothers, Sidney Jr. (and wife Marty, both now deceased) and surviving Brother William (and wife Francis, deceased). During this time, raising a family of rambunctious, healthy boys was difficult as ever, so Bob’s mother “Mimmy” rented out washing machines to delivered by the boys to folks who didn’t own one; both parents survived the Great Galveston Storm of 1900. Of course, having his own Island upbringing meant that the ocean was Bob’s first love and best resource in terms of self-sufficiency as a young man. He rented beach chairs and umbrellas to tourists, fished for anything (especially flounder) and a Boy scout earning his Eagle Scout and a Sea Scout ; there in town, his best friends Mickey Michaelis,, John Glenn and Emil “Shorty” Huber. As a teen, Bob took flying lessons and even bought an airplane while busy with his studies at Ball High, from which he graduated in 1947. From there, Bob followed the path of his older brother and join the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M College (Sidney was in the class of '41).
As much as he had loved Island living, Bob felt even more comfortable as a TAMU Aggie (class of '51). Indeed, Bob was one of the first 8th Company freshman—after World War II—to be housed at the Riverside campus Annex on what had been the old Bryan Air Base, bunking with his best friend from the island, Shorty Huber. While at the Annex, Bob ranked highly among the Fish Rifle Team and was one of the founding member of the Fish Drill Team. The next year, Bob found a place serving in “A” Army Security Agency (Signal Corps) and also as a Senior Intermural Manager; in addition, he was heavily involved in the Galveston Hometown Club. That sophomore year, Bob’s outfit was awarded the General Moore Award for their achievement as top outfit in the Corps (which his grandson Sean’s own outfit would reclaim, nearly 60 years later). Finally, on the same day that Bob graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. This led to his assignment—during the Korean War—as a cryptographer with the Army Security Agency, posted in Alaska.
Luckily, Bob made it back home to Aggieland whenever he could. When his best friend Shorty married his sweetheart Lola in 1952, Bob attended their wedding reception and met Nancy Elizabeth Belk Smith—a match that Lola and Shorty had been trying to arrange for a long time. Since both Bob and Nancy were impressed with each other, he asked her out after leaving the Army (July 1954). Nancy later wrote that she bought an entirely new outfit for their first date—along with her first pair of slingbacked heels, which made her feet hurt all night. But they were always smitten with each other after that, and so, on January 1, 1955, Bob proposed; in March, he gave her an engagement ring as a birthday present (“Just the type I wanted, too!!”). On June 9, 1955—after Bob had finally sold his airplane, as he promised he would—Nancy married him in Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, amidst her favorite yellow daisies; they went on to settle in Dickinson, TX. Their family would grow to include three children: Mark Everett Smith (and wife Lisa), Lisa Anne Smith (deceased) and Laurie “Laura” Lee Smith Cook (and husband David). Last year, Bob and Nancy celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, surrounded by family and friends.
These early years together were happy and busy as the Smiths raised their young family; Bob found work as a Systems Chemical Engineer for Union Carbide. In 1961, the family moved to Brownsville (following Bob’s career), where daughter Lisa then drowned at age three. After her death, Bob wanted to spare other children and their families a similar fate, so he organized a swimming lessons program for local children through the American Red Cross. He was also invested in his Masonic Lodge (Rio Grande Masonic Lodge) and currently with the Orphans Friends Lodge #17, he served several times as Worshipful Master, and civic groups including the Shriners, Sojourners and Knights Templar, eager to champion local causes that remained close to his heart. He moved his family to Houston in 1971 then finally retired from Union Carbide in 1985.
True, their lives together weren’t always easy, but because of their love for each other, Bob and Nancy enjoyed their journey as soul mates. With their surviving children, they camped at KOAs and watched drive-in movies, then attended church (Bob was a deacon at Anderson Baptist Church near the time of his death). Likewise, Bob’s goodwill and good humor were infectious; he sang in a barbershop quartet and ate a quart of Blue Bell Ice Cream per day, out of the carton—on rare occasions when there wasn’t any to be had in the house, Bob declared a state of emergency. He tinkered with cars, planes, bicycles and any sort of vehicle he could explore in, every day was an adventure while bringing up his children along for the ride. Bob loved to camp each year with his family spending time in spots such as Leaky Texas riding the rapids, Four Corners where all his family placed each hand and foot in the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, all at once , Colorado and Arkansas just to name a few. His love of flying allowed quick trips moving from one place to another, Bob often looked at his children or grandchildren and declared, “Shakespeare, get cha in the ear!”
Bob was not only a fan and former alumni of Texas A&M University, but of Aggieland in general and this corner of Texas in particular, as evidenced in his love for good country living and his lifelong devotion to Blue Bell Ice Cream (which will be served at the reception following his Life Celebration). Bob and Nancy returned to College Station in 1985 and shortly thereafter, Bob became Owner and Vice-President of Professional Car Services, Inc., working alongside his son, Mark until Bob’s second career retirement in 1996. From there, Bob and Nancy moved to the Smith Family Ranch in Anderson, determined to finally enjoy country living and each other’s endearing company.
Remembering Bob Smith now are his sweetheart of 61 years, Nancy, as well daughter and son-in-law, Laura & David Cook, his daughter-in-law, Lisa Smith and his brother, William Smith. His grandchildren are also missing their “Pawpaw,” including Lindsey, Shelby, Richard (and wife Shelby) and Sean (and wife Breanna). He was also blessed to be a great grandfather to two and a half -year-old Nolan “Robert” Cook, who will miss him dearly. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Sidney Smith Jr., his daughter Lisa and his son Mark.
Family and friends are invited to gather for the Life Celebration of Robert Lee Smith, scheduled at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, June 21st, 2016, at Hillier Funeral Home in College Station. Of course, a reception featuring Blue Bell Ice Cream will follow (Bob’s favorite was Homemade Vanilla, with either butterscotch or chocolate syrup).
Share memories of Bob and condolences with the Smith family at www.hillierfuneralhome.com.
Celebration of Life
JUN 21. 11:00 AM
Hillier Funeral Home - College Station
4080 State Hwy 6 South
College Station, TX, US, 77845
wecare@hillierfh.com
Reception
JUN 21. 12:00 PM
Hillier Funeral Home - College Station
4080 State Hwy 6 South
College Station, TX, US, 77845
wecare@hillierfh.com
Ice Cream Social
Hillier Funeral Home - College Station
4080 State Hwy 6 South
College Station, TX 77845
(979) 985-2060
Robert Lee Smith
June 24, 1929 - June 11, 2016
“Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies
They are the boys who show the real old fight
That good old Aggie spirit thrills us
And makes us yell and yell and yell…”
-Aggie War Hymn
Robert Lee “Bob” Smith
Aggie proud through and through, Robert Lee Smith—our husband, father and faithful friend—passed away Saturday, June 11, 2016, just two weeks before his eighty-seventh birthday. Ever adventurous, this loving Christian man was as fun as he was faithful, and his loss is keenly felt by those he left behind.
Bob was raised on Galveston Island after having been born there on June 24, 1929—near the dawn of the Great Depression—to Sidney Newton Smith and Willie Gertrude Cloyd Smith, a railroad dispatcher and homemaker, respectively. Also part of the Smith family were Bob’s two older brothers, Sidney Jr. (and wife Marty, both now deceased) and surviving Brother William (and wife Francis, deceased). During this time, raising a family of rambunctious, healthy boys was difficult as ever, so Bob’s mother “Mimmy” rented out washing machines to delivered by the boys to folks who didn’t own one; both parents survived the Great Galveston Storm of 1900. Of course, having his own Island upbringing meant that the ocean was Bob’s first love and best resource in terms of self-sufficiency as a young man. He rented beach chairs and umbrellas to tourists, fished for anything (especially flounder) and a Boy scout earning his Eagle Scout and a Sea Scout ; there in town, his best friends Mickey Michaelis,, John Glenn and Emil “Shorty” Huber. As a teen, Bob took flying lessons and even bought an airplane while busy with his studies at Ball High, from which he graduated in 1947. From there, Bob followed the path of his older brother and join the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M College (Sidney was in the class of '41).
As much as he had loved Island living, Bob felt even more comfortable as a TAMU Aggie (class of '51). Indeed, Bob was one of the first 8th Company freshman—after World War II—to be housed at the Riverside campus Annex on what had been the old Bryan Air Base, bunking with his best friend from the island, Shorty Huber. While at the Annex, Bob ranked highly among the Fish Rifle Team and was one of the founding member of the Fish Drill Team. The next year, Bob found a place serving in “A” Army Security Agency (Signal Corps) and also as a Senior Intermural Manager; in addition, he was heavily involved in the Galveston Hometown Club. That sophomore year, Bob’s outfit was awarded the General Moore Award for their achievement as top outfit in the Corps (which his grandson Sean’s own outfit would reclaim, nearly 60 years later). Finally, on the same day that Bob graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. This led to his assignment—during the Korean War—as a cryptographer with the Army Security Agency, posted in Alaska.
Luckily, Bob made it back home to Aggieland whenever he could. When his best friend Shorty married his sweetheart Lola in 1952, Bob attended their wedding reception and met Nancy Elizabeth Belk Smith—a match that Lola and Shorty had been trying to arrange for a long time. Since both Bob and Nancy were impressed with each other, he asked her out after leaving the Army (July 1954). Nancy later wrote that she bought an entirely new outfit for their first date—along with her first pair of slingbacked heels, which made her feet hurt all night. But they were always smitten with each other after that, and so, on January 1, 1955, Bob proposed; in March, he gave her an engagement ring as a birthday present (“Just the type I wanted, too!!”). On June 9, 1955—after Bob had finally sold his airplane, as he promised he would—Nancy married him in Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, amidst her favorite yellow daisies; they went on to settle in Dickinson, TX. Their family would grow to include three children: Mark Everett Smith (and wife Lisa), Lisa Anne Smith (deceased) and Laurie “Laura” Lee Smith Cook (and husband David). Last year, Bob and Nancy celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, surrounded by family and friends.
These early years together were happy and busy as the Smiths raised their young family; Bob found work as a Systems Chemical Engineer for Union Carbide. In 1961, the family moved to Brownsville (following Bob’s career), where daughter Lisa then drowned at age three. After her death, Bob wanted to spare other children and their families a similar fate, so he organized a swimming lessons program for local children through the American Red Cross. He was also invested in his Masonic Lodge (Rio Grande Masonic Lodge) and currently with the Orphans Friends Lodge #17, he served several times as Worshipful Master, and civic groups including the Shriners, Sojourners and Knights Templar, eager to champion local causes that remained close to his heart. He moved his family to Houston in 1971 then finally retired from Union Carbide in 1985.
True, their lives together weren’t always easy, but because of their love for each other, Bob and Nancy enjoyed their journey as soul mates. With their surviving children, they camped at KOAs and watched drive-in movies, then attended church (Bob was a deacon at Anderson Baptist Church near the time of his death). Likewise, Bob’s goodwill and good humor were infectious; he sang in a barbershop quartet and ate a quart of Blue Bell Ice Cream per day, out of the carton—on rare occasions when there wasn’t any to be had in the house, Bob declared a state of emergency. He tinkered with cars, planes, bicycles and any sort of vehicle he could explore in, every day was an adventure while bringing up his children along for the ride. Bob loved to camp each year with his family spending time in spots such as Leaky Texas riding the rapids, Four Corners where all his family placed each hand and foot in the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, all at once , Colorado and Arkansas just to name a few. His love of flying allowed quick trips moving from one place to another, Bob often looked at his children or grandchildren and declared, “Shakespeare, get cha in the ear!”
Bob was not only a fan and former alumni of Texas A&M University, but of Aggieland in general and this corner of Texas in particular, as evidenced in his love for good country living and his lifelong devotion to Blue Bell Ice Cream (which will be served at the reception following his Life Celebration). Bob and Nancy returned to College Station in 1985 and shortly thereafter, Bob became Owner and Vice-President of Professional Car Services, Inc., working alongside his son, Mark until Bob’s second career retirement in 1996. From there, Bob and Nancy moved to the Smith Family Ranch in Anderson, determined to finally enjoy country living and each other’s endearing company.
Remembering Bob Smith now are his sweetheart of 61 years, Nancy, as well daughter and son-in-law, Laura & David Cook, his daughter-in-law, Lisa Smith and his brother, William Smith. His grandchildren are also missing their “Pawpaw,” including Lindsey, Shelby, Richard (and wife Shelby) and Sean (and wife Breanna). He was also blessed to be a great grandfather to two and a half -year-old Nolan “Robert” Cook, who will miss him dearly. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Sidney Smith Jr., his daughter Lisa and his son Mark.
Family and friends are invited to gather for the Life Celebration of Robert Lee Smith, scheduled at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, June 21st, 2016, at Hillier Funeral Home in College Station. Of course, a reception featuring Blue Bell Ice Cream will follow (Bob’s favorite was Homemade Vanilla, with either butterscotch or chocolate syrup).
Share memories of Bob and condolences with the Smith family at www.hillierfuneralhome.com.
Celebration of Life
JUN 21. 11:00 AM
Hillier Funeral Home - College Station
4080 State Hwy 6 South
College Station, TX, US, 77845
wecare@hillierfh.com
Reception
JUN 21. 12:00 PM
Hillier Funeral Home - College Station
4080 State Hwy 6 South
College Station, TX, US, 77845
wecare@hillierfh.com
Ice Cream Social
505 George Bush Drive
College Station, TX 77840
(979) 845-7514
When Aggies see a need, their energy and their selflessness draw others into the cause, and good things happen.
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