Individual Details

Death

Larry Thomas Smith, 88, formerly of Cary, died Sunday at Reidsville Rehabilitation and Care Center. Mr. Smith was born in Clinton, South Carolina, October 3, 1912, to Thomas Miller and Essie Furr Smith. He was a twenty-year veteran of the United States Navy, serving in the Pacific during World War II. After retiring from the Navy, Mr. Smith worked for the FAA at the Raleigh-Durham Airport until 1979. As a retiree, Mr. Smith taught English as a second language to immigrants in Cary. This work, plus other endeavors, earned Mr. Smith the award of Cary Senior Citizen of the Year in 1984. Mr. Smith was very active at Cary First Baptist Church, serving as choir member, deacon, and Sunday school superintendent. Mr. Smithwas preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Velma Burton Smith, his daughter Nancy Linda Smith of Cary, and a sister, Margaret Smith Boozer, of Newberry, SC. Surviving: one daughter, Martha S. Balsley and husband, Tom of Reidsville; grandsons, Stuart Balsley of High Point, Burton Balsley of Banner Elk; sisters, Sara Livingston of Newberry, Ruth Bowers of Newberry. Visitation will be Wednesday night, June 27, from 6-8 at Citty Funeral Home in Reidsville, N.C. There will be a Memorial Service at Cary First Baptist Church on Saturday, June 30 at 11 a.m. Inurnment will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church Columbarium on Sunday, July 1, at 12:15 p.m. The family would like to thank the staffs of Carolina House of Reidsville and Reidsville Rehabilitation and Care for their kind consideration and care of Mr. Smith during his time of declining health. Memorials may be made to The Memorial Walkway Fund at Carolina House of Reidsville, c/o BB&T, P.O. Box 419, Reidsville, NC 27323.
The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, June 27, 2001