Donald Smith

Donald Ray Smith of Brenham, Texas graduated into his heavenly home on June 5, 2024, at his Washington County Texas home surrounded by his family. After a fifteen-year battle with COPD, he learned in early Spring 2024 of a stage 4 melanoma that hindered his breathing the last few weeks of life. Recently in an interview with one of the family, he expressed his greatest achievements were his family, his airline career and his home building projects. Upon graduating from Eastern New Mexico University in May 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts from the Portales College of Business in Marketing and following a marriage to his college sweetheart and heart throb Herma Loy Elliott Smith in the same year, Don obtained an airplane pilot's license after which he joined the pilot personnel of Eastern Airlines. In 1989, he retired from a long career at EAL only flying for a few private assignments afterwards. Don found the gorgeous landscapes of Washington County Texas to establish his family home and remodel an old farmhouse where he has lived for several decades.

Born in a hospital in Hobbs, New Mexico on September 25, 1939, Don grew up in the company town of Oil Center, NM and attended public schools in Eunice, NM. As a graduate of Eunice High School, Don participated in the sports of Track and Football all four years, and in his senior year was Associated Press All-State Football, voted The Most Athletic, a Class Favorite, and Who's Who. Don also participated in the Senior and Junior class plays, played the trumpet in Band and Brass Ensemble, and he was a Football Escort his Junior and Senior year. His mother wanted her children to attend college, and she made sure the youngest of her four kids matriculated successfully onto and through Eastern New Mexico University.

Don expressed his favorite scripture as John 3:16. As a child of nine years old, he walked the aisle of the First Baptist Church of Eunice, New Mexico with his mother in 1948. She moved her faith from the Methodist church to join her youngest son in the Baptist church tradition. As an adult, Don took his faith honestly, humbly, and quietly, modeling his faithfulness to the local church of First Baptist Church of Brenham, Texas. As a deacon, as parental leaders to his two oldest children in the Youth Sunday School class, Don and his wife served as Directors, both singing in the church choir for a season and serving as a building handyman before the church hired on additional personnel. Don modeled a solid faith and repentance to his God of the Bible and his wife, his children and his grandchildren by discussing to each the importance of walking in wisdom and fear of the Lord as the true path to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He helped guide all his children to attend Brenham Public Schools, public colleges and universities like Blinn College, Texas A&M University, Texas Women's University, and North Texas University as he was a product of the public schools of New Mexico where he believed that honored traditions of knowing a wide variety of people allow for you to serve people in your future professional careers. He understood the opportunities that the systems afforded he and his family as Don found great pride as father and grandfather to see his children excel in the values he held dear: faith, family, country, and education for the next generation.

Don's favorite saying is: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Don found great delight working with his hands whether it be mechanical, woodworking, any odd job around the house as he had a great teacher from his late father who helped him add several rooms and a bathroom in a "do-it-yourself" project on their company two bedroom and one bath family home in Eunice, New Mexico; then, his late father helped him "do-it-yourself" by building his own family a home in Newnan, Georgia which he found great pride in before a career move to Houston, Texas. Preferring the country landscapes of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush flowers, Don and Herma Loy determined on buying and remodeling an old family farmhouse outside the Houston region in 1978 in historic Brenham, Washington County, the Birthplace of Texas.

Donald Ray Smith is a long-time member of the First Baptist Church of Brenham, Texas, and a local supporter of the Salem Volunteer Fire Department of Brenham, a former member of the Christian Airline Pilots Association, and as a college man, a member of Delta Sigma Pi Fraternity, Epsilon Eta Chapter.

Donald Ray Smith leaves behind Herma Loy Elliott Smith, his loving and faithful wife of sixty years, who celebrated a diamond anniversary of sixty years with him from March 30, 2024 to March 30, 1964. He also leaves behind his siblings: Irvin Smith and Mary Nell Smith Spangler both of Artesia, New Mexico; his adult children: Lisa Dawn Smith; Parker Smith and wife Carmel Smith; Traci Smith Johnson; Shay and husband Lowell Ballew; sister-in-law, Janet Smith, Retired Career Missionary to the Navajo Indians; along with his nine-grandchildren: Preston Ray Smith, Caleb Smith, Rhys Johnson, Katyana Johnson, Megan Johnson, Aidan Ballew, Liam Ballew and wife Eileen, Jude Ballew, and Olivia Ballew. Also, he leaves behind nieces and nephews: Darla Smith Jones, David Smith, Donald Spangler, Chrissy Spangler Dobson, Tina Marie Smith Wurgler, and numerous great nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death are his parents the late Alvin Roy Smith and the late Mary Magdalene Purtell Smith; his sibling the late Alvin Royce Smith (U.S. Navy Sonarman on the USS Gudgeon Submarine) of Prescott, AZ; his late sister-in-law Darlene Smith of Artesia, NM; his late niece Mary Kay Spangler Wilson of Arlington, TX; his late nephew Daryl Smith (Retired U.S. Army Career Military Intelligence), father-in-law, Hermon Lloyd Elliott; mother-in-law, Verma Lois Elliott; brother-in-law, Hermon Lawrence Elliott; and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins.

Plans are set to honor Donald Ray Smith for Visitation on Friday, June 14, 2024 from 5:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M., at Memorial Oaks Chapel, Brenham, Texas, and a funeral service on Saturday, 10:30 A.M. at the old building for First Baptist Church at 304 North Market Street, Brenham, Texas a brief gravesite service will follow and a reception for the family and friends hosted by the Agape Lifers Sunday School class. Pallbearers for Donald Ray Smith will be his nine grandchildren.

If you choose to honor Donald Ray Smith's memory by a memorial gift, please consider one of the following: First Baptist Church Building Campaign of Brenham, Texas; First Baptist Church School of Brenham, Texas; an alumni scholarship to a student of Eunice High School of Eunice, New Mexico; and/or an alumni scholarship to a student at Eastern New Mexico University, Delta Sigma Pi, Portales, New Mexico. The children of Donald Ray Smith wish to "Thank you for your kindness of this great family figure of ours."

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 West Main St., Brenham. To post a tribute to the family, please visit www.memorialoakschapel.com.