Clarence T. Smith

My dear husband, and loving father and grandfather, Tom Smith of Hide-A-Way Lake, passed away on March 31, 2007 leaving his wife Shirley of 50 years, two sons, two daughters, and four grandchildren. Tom was born May 30, 1930 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He attended high school at Ft. Lauderdale High. He entered the US Air Force on November 2, 1950 as an airman and then became a Military Air Policeman, and was stationed at Goose Bay, Labrador and Bangor, Maine. He attended Officer Candidate School in Houston, Texas and went on to Navigator Training in San Antonio, Texas where he became a Master Navigator. The USAF moved Tom to the Strategic Air Command base in Merced, California. While there he attended and graduated from Merced Junior College. He was transferred to Ft. Collins, Colorado where he attended Colorado State University and graduated, with honors, with a BS in Mathematics and was a lifetime member of Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Academic Society. He completed the Air Force Squadron Officer School Air Command and Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He was sent to Vietnam where he flew a total of 138 combat missions. During his career in the Air Force he received the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal and the Distinguished Service Medal. His last assignment was as Operations Plans Staff Officer at Strategic Air Command Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. After he retired from the Air Force he worked in real estate, insurance, and computer system development and sales. He was a partner in the Microline Computer Systems Company in Tyler, Texas, and later in the PROS Joint Venture software development company. He developed the golf handicap system for Hide-A-Way Lake, and set up the computer system for the Lindale Public Library. He had been a resident of Smith County since 1976, and of Hide-A-Way Lake since 1989. He served on the Hide-A-Way Lake Board of Directors from 1992 to 1994, and served on the Property Owners Association in 1998. He loved singing and was a member of the Omaha Chapter Barbershop chorus, as well as the Extension Cords barbershop quartet. He loved playing golf, spending time with his beloved grandchildren, and going on RV trips with his wife Shirley and their friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Clarence Edwin and Edna Inez (Stubbs) Smith, his brother William Edwin Smith, and his sisters Leoma Straker, Ruth Tenor and Nora Hagman. He is survived by his wife Shirley of Hide-a-Way Lake, Texas; his sons, David Smith of Temple, Texas and Jeff Smith of Garden Valley, Texas; his daughters and son-in-laws, Cathy and Larry Alexander of Arlington, Texas and Stacy and Ron Moore of Hide-A-Way, Texas; four grandchildren, Jenny Jarzabski, Thomas Moore, Jeremy Smith and Matthew Moore; his sister Carol Mason of Bedford, Texas, and many nieces and nephews. Honorary Pallbearers are Bob Martin, Jim Morrin, Skip von Strohe, Bill Kashouty, Jack Jessen, Orlyn Boyd, and John Bledsoe. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, April 14, 2007 at 3 p.m. at Caudle Rutledge Funeral Directors, Inc. in Lindale, Texas. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed as a donation in Tom's name to the Tyler Cancer Center, The Hospice of East Texas (HomePlace), or just take a friend to lunch.

Clarence T. Smith

May 30, 1930 - March 31, 2007