Obituary of Roy Lesile Smith

Roy L. Smith Sr. was born on January 5, 1939 in Zion (Crescent), Oklahoma. He was the 8th child out of 11 children born to Alexander and Marvellar Holmes Smith. As a child he was surrounded by his brothers John "Bo", Noomis, Benny, Glenn, Alexander "Alex", William "Bill" and his sisters Verdean, Velma, Opal, and Maggie. As a boy growing up Roy picked cotton and helped run the family farm. Roy received his formal education in Dover, Oklahoma from Booker T. Washington High School and later transferred to Crescent High School. Roy took great pleasure in tinkering with different machinery. He met Emma Brame as a young boy at his aunt's (Momma Lily) house. Roy and Emma married on September 16, 1961 in Oklahoma. Shortly thereafter they moved to Denver, Colorado, where they raised their children LaDonna, Diana and Roy Jr. Roy was a hard worker; he worked as a mechanic at his fatherin- law's gas station. He also worked for Gates Rubber Company, then for Card Corporation as a steel welder for 20 years until they closed the plant. His last place of employment was at Wonder Bread Hostess where he held the position of a line worker for over 15 years. Roy loved working on cars with his oldest brother Noomis. They would take a car apart and put it back together in a day. Roy was well known for humming songs while walking through the grocery store. He always looked forward to traveling. He often took road trips to Oklahoma to see family or for family reunions, but loved his trips to Las Vegas. He loved all the children in the family. This was evident by his willingness to wash the babies diapers by hand. His nieces and nephews fondly called him "Daddy Roy". Roy always remembered everybody's birthday and their age. His mind was like a steel trap and he did not forget anything. His favorite baseball team was the Los Angeles Dodgers, football team was the San Francisco 49ers, and basketball team was the Los Angeles Lakers. In the summer time you could always find him on the front porch, smoking a cigarette and watching the neighborhood. Every now and then, Roy would cook a meal. His favorite meal to cook was fried pork chops, fried potatoes and biscuits. He was well known for his banana pineapple cake. Roy Smith departed this earth on April 20, 2015. He was proceeded in death by his daughter Diana Lynn, his parents, four brothers and one sister. He leaves to cherish his memory his wife of fifty-three years Emma; his daughter, La Donna (David) Swazer; his son, Roy (Melissa) Jr,: his sisters, Maggie Smith Enid, OK, Opal Winn, Lawrence KS, J. Verdean Smith, Denver CO; his brothers, Glenn Smith Los Angeles, CA, William (LaVonna) Smith, Crescent, OK; his granddaughter. Alissa Smith (the love of his life) and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.