Roll Call Tribute
Leon Smith '52 May 22, 2018 8:16 AM updated: May 22, 2018 8:21 AM
Published in The (McAllen) Monitor on May 23, 2018
Dr. Leon Russell Smith(1925 - 2018)
McAllen - Dr. Leon Russell Smith, 93, left to be with the Lord on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Leon was born on April 30, 1925 in Johnstown NY. He was a 1941 graduate of Edinburg High School, later serving three years in The Army Medical Corp. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Plant and Soil Science degree in 1952. After a few years of farming in the upper valley, he entered a graduate program at TAMU on an Assistantship and worked to complete his Phd in Plant Pathology. As a plant pathologist, he worked for the TAMU international programs for several years in the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. He also worked at the East Texas Research and Extension Center at Overton, Texas before returning to the valley to develop a citrus pest management program with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. After retirement, he enjoyed working in his citrus grove, with occasional consulting work in the valley and the Caribbean basin countries. Leon enjoyed golfing and was an avid bay fisherman. He was also a devout Christian who loved The Lord and at the time of his death was a member of the Super Seniors Sunday School at First Baptist Church, in McAllen.
Leon was preceded in death by his parents H.V. and Georgia Ellen Smith, a sister, Jean Karoline Davidson of Edinburg, and a brother, Raymond Smith of Victoria, TX. He is survived by his wife Shirley Huckabay Smith, a sister-in-law Lynnae Smith of Victoria TX, a son Peter (Diane) Smith of Salt Lake City, UT, stepchildren Sheryl (Chuck) Gassiott of Bastrop TX, Lisa Beare of McAllen, and Karen (Chet) Hatzold of Mission. Nephews Nathan Smith of Austin, Lowell Smith of Victoria, Jeff Jones of Red River NM, Jay Jones of Angel Fire NM, Luther Davidson of Maxwell TX and one niece, Julie Smith, Austin TX. Nine grandchildren: Charles, Zachary (Daniela), and Joshua Hatzold of Mission, Kendra Barth Moulton (Andrew) of Knoxville TN, Corbin and Abby Barth of McAllen, Erin Gassiott of Louisville KY, Nick (Haley) Gassiott of Houston TX, and Tyler Smith of Edinburg and one great grandchild Ava Merriman, Louisville KY.
Services will held on Friday, May 25, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at Valley Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Mission with The Reverend Jay Jones presiding. The Smith family entrusted their services to the care of Ceballos Funeral Home of McAllen.
Funeral Home
Ceballos Funeral Home
1023 North 23rd Street McAllen, TX 78501
(956) 682-3431
Dr. Leon Russell Smith(1925 - 2018)
McAllen - Dr. Leon Russell Smith, 93, left to be with the Lord on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Leon was born on April 30, 1925 in Johnstown NY. He was a 1941 graduate of Edinburg High School, later serving three years in The Army Medical Corp. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Plant and Soil Science degree in 1952. After a few years of farming in the upper valley, he entered a graduate program at TAMU on an Assistantship and worked to complete his Phd in Plant Pathology. As a plant pathologist, he worked for the TAMU international programs for several years in the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. He also worked at the East Texas Research and Extension Center at Overton, Texas before returning to the valley to develop a citrus pest management program with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. After retirement, he enjoyed working in his citrus grove, with occasional consulting work in the valley and the Caribbean basin countries. Leon enjoyed golfing and was an avid bay fisherman. He was also a devout Christian who loved The Lord and at the time of his death was a member of the Super Seniors Sunday School at First Baptist Church, in McAllen.
Leon was preceded in death by his parents H.V. and Georgia Ellen Smith, a sister, Jean Karoline Davidson of Edinburg, and a brother, Raymond Smith of Victoria, TX. He is survived by his wife Shirley Huckabay Smith, a sister-in-law Lynnae Smith of Victoria TX, a son Peter (Diane) Smith of Salt Lake City, UT, stepchildren Sheryl (Chuck) Gassiott of Bastrop TX, Lisa Beare of McAllen, and Karen (Chet) Hatzold of Mission. Nephews Nathan Smith of Austin, Lowell Smith of Victoria, Jeff Jones of Red River NM, Jay Jones of Angel Fire NM, Luther Davidson of Maxwell TX and one niece, Julie Smith, Austin TX. Nine grandchildren: Charles, Zachary (Daniela), and Joshua Hatzold of Mission, Kendra Barth Moulton (Andrew) of Knoxville TN, Corbin and Abby Barth of McAllen, Erin Gassiott of Louisville KY, Nick (Haley) Gassiott of Houston TX, and Tyler Smith of Edinburg and one great grandchild Ava Merriman, Louisville KY.
Services will held on Friday, May 25, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at Valley Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Mission with The Reverend Jay Jones presiding. The Smith family entrusted their services to the care of Ceballos Funeral Home of McAllen.
Funeral Home
Ceballos Funeral Home
1023 North 23rd Street McAllen, TX 78501
(956) 682-3431
505 George Bush Drive
College Station, TX 77840
(979) 845-7514
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