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Obituary
On Monday, March 7, 2022, Richard Lee Smith
of Douthat Lane, Lesage, WV, our beloved Father, Grandfather, and Great
Grandfather went to be with the Lord. Richard was born on June 9, 1939 to
the late Ernest and Alberta Smith. Richard was preceded in death in 2013 by
his loving wife of 50 years, Lois Luticha Smith. Additionally, he was
preceded in death by his older brother Ernest Clifford Smith in 2018.
Richard is survived by his son, Richard Darren Smith and wife Rhonda, and
his daughter Tiffani Marie Lyons and husband Chris. Richard and Lois are
survived by four grandchildren whom they adored and spent many years with,
including Aaron Smith and wife Madison, Samantha Smith, Alex Smith, and
Spencer Lyons. Richard was the proud great-grandfather to Sam, Olivia, and
Shepherd Smith. Richard is survived by a brother David Smith, sister, Martha
Wilks and brother-in-law, Bob, both of Douthat Lane in Lesage. Richard is
also survived by sister-in-laws, Irene Smith wife of Ernest Clifford, Sue
McKay, Nancy Saunders, Rita Carter, Karen Underwood, and brother-in-law Jean
Underwood. In addition to those named, Richard had several nephews and
nieces that were very close to him on both his and Lois' side of the
families. Richard graduated from Barboursville High School in 1957 where he
was a standout athlete participating in both football and basketball.
Following high school, Richard and his best friend, John Scragg, joined the
United States Army in 1958. Richard served in Germany from 1958-1962.
Richard remained very proud of his service to his country throughout his
entire life and would often recount his time in the Army and his days in
Germany. Being a Veteran was something Richard was very proud of, and he did
his very best to instill this pride in his children, grandchildren, family,
and friends. Richard and his Army buddies owned a car together and enjoyed
traveling all through Europe while he was stationed in Germany. His proudest
trips included Paris, the Netherlands, and skiing the Swiss Alps. Richard
told a funny story when he was invited by a few friends to go to another
nearby Army base to see Elvis Presley. Jokingly, Richard said "you guys are
not going to get to see Elvis", and declined the invitation. Only a few
hours later his Army buddies returned with Polaroid pictures of them shaking
hands and posing for pictures with Elvis. Richard always got a kick out of
this story and would share from time to time. Richard enjoyed two careers in
his life. His first was working for Greyhound, which eventually took him
away again from Douthat Lane for a short time and landed him in Roanoke, Va.
It was while living in Roanoke that he met his future bride of 50 years,
Lois. His second career was serving as a bus driver for the Cabell County
School Board. Richard spent many years driving and serving children of
Cabell County that had physical or mental challenges. Richard grew to love
his routes and the children he interacted with. His love for those children
was easily identifiable and he and his wife Lois (his bus aide for many
years) were forever grateful for the love that those children brought to
their lives. Richard suffered from Alzheimer's the last 10 years of his
life, but lived the final years of his life to the fullest. From Tiffani's
porch, he loved to watch his great grandchildren play, he loved driving his
golf cart through the Cox Landing community reminiscing about the old days,
and he enjoyed spending time with family the most. Through his care the
final years of his life, the family would like to recognize and thank the
following people. Phyllis Damron, who helped and cared for Richard the final
5 years of his life, Charlee Chaffin, whom Richard called "His Girlfriend"
who helped the family Richard's final 2 years, and Lori Clay who helped out
the final months of his life. Each of these women played an amazing role in
loving and caring for Richard. We are grateful for their love and care, and
they will forever be in our hearts. There is absolutely no way we could have
been able to provide Richard the opportunity to spend his final years with
us without them. May God Bless these three very special ladies. Following
Richard's wishes, there will be no services.
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