Thomas H. Smith

Thomas H. Smith, 89, died quietly at home on Jan 23, surrounded by family.

Tom was born in January’s cold in Detroit in 1932 and died in January’s cold in Marshall County in 2022, a week shy of his 90th birthday. He was the son of Alton and Wilma Smith, both multi-generational residents of Marshall County and part of a migration of rural Kentuckians who moved to Detroit to find work in the Depression. Tom was only 3 years old when Alton died of appendicitis. Wilma packed up her boys and the family returned home to Marshall County.

The young widow taught her boys to be self-reliant, to work hard and to not bother complaining, lessons that almost came to define Tom’s life.

Tom graduated from Brewers High School and voluntarily joined the Army in hopes of serving in the Korean War, but a lifelong limp eventually led to a medical discharge.

As a young man, Tom and his closest friend, J.D. Rudd, found themselves dating sisters from Oak Level. In his 20th summer, Tom married Mary Brooks Tynes, then 17. He found work building the Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah and they lived in Oak Level with her parents, Newt and Roxie Tynes, while she finished high school. Soon after, J.D. married the sister, Carol Ruth. (An older sister Katherine had earlier settled in Benton.)

Tom then built the simple brick ranch house that would be his home for the rest of his life. He and Mary began the hard work of creating and raising their own family. Maybe it was because he himself had been raised without a father, or maybe it’s just because Tom was created to be a loving family man, but Paul, Sheila and Verenda always said that “our dad made us feel like his life began the day we were born."

Tom worked at B.F. Goodrich for some 30 years, suffering through the swing shift years until he had enough seniority to enjoy the day shifts. During the great strike, he used his time off to build a camper that fit on the back of his pickup, and the family explored almost every campground in Kentucky and the Smokies. He was a member of the Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church and led the building committee when the church built new Sunday School rooms and kitchen. His woodworking projects at home filled the garage, and then a garage annex, and then he built a standalone workshop garage. He was quick with math calculations. Tom didn’t talk much, he loved bluegrass gospel and once said he would “drive four hours just to hear a good dobro." He was seldom seen without a baseball cap and disapproved of animals inside the house.

Thomas H. Smith was preceded in death by his father, Alton Smith, his mother WIlma (Cole) Smith Culver, and his brothers Tony and Frank Smith.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Mary Brooks (Tynes) Smith; son Paul Thomas Smith; daughters Verenda Carol (Smith) Camire and Sheila Brooks (Smith) Levine;  grandchildren Andrea Smith, Annie Smith, Sarah (Levine) Fox and Eli Levine; great-granddaughter Ellie Fox and great-grandson Rowan Fox; and a younger sister, Mary Kay (Culver) Owens.

Services will be at Collier Funeral Home on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. The funeral service will begin at 2 p.m.