Larry Randall Smith

Newport native Larry Randall Smith, 59, died at his Hopkinsville, Kentucky home August 3, 2007, with his loving family and friends by his side. His death ended a year and a half battle with cancer. Larry was born August 2, 1948, the only son and eldest of three children of I. Jay and Evelyn (Neas) Smith of Newport. The Smiths were prominent business owners in Newport, operating Smith Hardware for over 50 years. Larry was reared in the Lutheran faith. Following his graduation from Cocke County High School in 1966, he entered Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville to play football and to pursue an engineering degree. In the spring of 1967, he transferred to University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and that summer married his high school sweetheart, Ann Overholt. For six years, beginning in 1967, he served in the Army Engineering Corps in Greeneville, Tenn. He also worked for Stokely Van-Camp as a field manager. In the fall of 1968, he purchased his first truck, a step that saw the beginning of Smith Trucking Services, a business he owned and operated until 2006. He hauled tobacco for local warehouses and then started hauling cattle for Wilson Livestock Market, delivering materials for local industries, and later hauling groceries for Cocke County Wholesale Grocery Company. In March, 1990, the Smiths purchased a 500-acre farm in Western Kentucky. Larry loved to ride horses, raise cattle, grow crops, and work on the farm. He and his son had been cultivating over 1000 acres until his recent illness. Preceding Larry in death were his father, his father-in-law and mother-in-law Connie and Marjorie (Correll) Overholt, and a sister-in-law, Patricia (Ramsey) Overholt. Larry is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Ann (Overholt) Smith, of the home; daughter and son-in-law Jennifer (Smith) Eisenhower and Brian and grandson, McKinley Smith Eisenhower, Newport; son and daughter-in-law Leejay Smith and Ashley and granddaughter Emily Claire Smith, Hopkinsville, Kentucky; his mother, Evelyn (Neas) Smith, Newport; sister and brother-in-law, Sharon (Smith) Styles and Jimmy, Newport; sister and brother-in-law, Robyn (Smith) Floyd and Mark, Knoxville. Other survivors include his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Joe and Charlotte Overholt, Newport; brother-in-law, Robert Overholt, Newport; nephew Chuck Styles and his daughters Tonya and Sonya Styles, Newport; niece and husband Sheri (Styles) Donaldson and Darrell and their son Kolbe, Canton, North Carolina; nephew Matthew Floyd, Memphis; nephew, Michael Floyd, Knoxville; nephew and wife Mike and Lisa Overholt and children Allison, Allen, Alex, and Allie, Newport; niece and husband Susan (Overholt) Drinnon and Allen and their children Ridge and Danielle, Lake City, Florida; nephew and wife Dan and Dr. Candi Overholt, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; nephew James Overholt, Dandridge; and nephew John Overholt, Newport. Larry is also survived by countless friends. Larry bequeathed his body to the University of Louisville School of Medicine, so that even in death, he was able to carry on his tradition of helping others. To honor Larry, his family will hold a memorial service Saturday, August 11, 2007, at 5 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Newport, Tennessee. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 140 Lincoln Avenue, Newport, TN 37821, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, c/o Larry Randall Smith Memorial, or Christian County Literacy Council P.O. Box 609, Hopkinsville, KY 42240. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Larry Randall Smith

August 2, 1948 - August 3, 2007