Floyd Smith

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Floyd "Smitty" Smith, age 89, passed away on Friday, July 15, 2016 in Bradenton, Florida. Floyd was born to Jesse and Maybelle Moody on Sept. 16, 1926 in Tennessee. He was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army and was a military policeman, having served as a guard at the Military Tribunal in Tokyo, Japan in 1945. After the war, he returned to Blytheville, AR, and started his family while working his farm. In 1960, Floyd and his family moved to Indiana. There, he went to work for International Harvester in Ft. Wayne, and remained there until his retirement in 1983. Upon retirement, Floyd moved to Foley, Alabama, where he made tight-knit friendships with his neighbors and fellow veterans who frequented the local American Legion chapter -- all of the locals there knew and loved "Smitty." He lived in Foley for 20 years. In 2012, Floyd moved to Bradenton, Florida to be closer to his daughter Brenda. Floyd, "Smitty," will be remembered for his extroverted, friendly demeanor and his keen sense of humor, both of which he maintained even at the very end of his life.

Floyd was preceded in death by his parents; his daughter Sherry Kline; his brother

Gerthue Smith and a sister Helen Persfull.

He is survived by sister Virple Walker of Blytheville, Ark.; two daughters Brenda Tipton of Bradenton, Fla. and Susie Hopkins of Loveland, Colo.; grandchildren; Kimberly Kirkwood, Ft. Wayne, Ind. and Kara Kline, Ft. Wayne, Ind., Stacy Shade, Roswell, Ga. and Christopher Hopkins, Raleigh, N.C.; and great-grandchildren; Lucas, Dylan, Jaxon, Brennen all of Ft. Wayne, Ind.

A memorial service at Trinity Baptist Church on July 28 at 11 a.m.