Final Salute

Mr. Donald Cleveland Smith, Sr., 76, died on Friday, January 4, 2019, at the Mississippi State Veterans Home of Oxford. The funeral service will be on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at 11 a.m. in the Chapel of Waller Funeral Home with the Rev. Fish Robinson officiating. Burial will follow in St. Peter’s Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday, January 7, 2019, from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. in West Hall at Waller Funeral Home.

A veteran of the Navy with a toothy smile and an enduring gentleness, Mr. Smith spent most of his life in Oxford. He worked as the president of Smith Oil, as a general contractor and later, perhaps most proudly, as the driver of the red, white and blue big-rig that hauled the Ole Miss football team’s gear from stadium to stadium. He was a lover of movies, a fixture at the Beacon, and a devotee of his dog, Tuie. He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Elizabeth Crockett Smith, with whom he traveled the world.

They had five children, all of whom survive: Donny (Lorie) Smith of Tupelo; Sally (David) Blinder of Atlanta; and Shellye (Chad) Mills, John Smith, and William (Melissa) Smith of Oxford. A brother, Randy Lee Smith (Pat) of Oxford, also survives, as do Mr. Smith’s eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

His family wishes to express its gratitude to Mr. Smith’s caretakers, Ruth Bianco and Carol McGuire, as well as the staffs of Camellia Hospice and the Mississippi State Veterans Home.

Memorial contributions in Mr. Smith’s memory may be made to the Ole Miss Loyalty Foundation, Ole Miss Athletics Foundation, P.O. Box 1519, Oxford, MS 38655.