Terry Smith was born February 23, 1940, to Roy and Lois (Winsted) Smith in Greenway, AR. He married Marilyn Crowson on April 19, 1963, in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Terry left home at 13 years of age to go to work in Michigan. He worked at a gas station and construction before returning back home. He went into the Army at 17 years old and went on to be a paratrooper. He was an entrepreneur and owned many businesses. He was a cotton ginner, farmer, restauranteur, crop duster, rental car dealer, used car dealer and finished up his career at 82 as a long-haul truck driver. He loved to drive across the country to see the sights. He thought being a truck driver was the best job ever. He was an avid car enthusiast and loved exotic and fast cars. He has traded for numerous cars throughout the year and never tired of looking at cars. His final car was delivered the day after he died. He never lost his passion for fast cars and until his last days spent hours watching car auctions and talking about his previous cars. He loved to drive fast anywhere he went. I think every one of us kids and mom has a story of trying to follow him and just seeing taillights in the distance or losing sight of him completely. He did not know how to slow down whether driving or just living life. Even in the last few months he was still ready to go to work and talked about going back out on the road to drive his truck. He was a “wheeler-dealer” until the end. He was always trying to work a deal on a car, truck, or equipment. He loved to see if he could flip something and make some money out of his latest deal.
He was famous for wanting to take a short-cut on trips and it was never a short cut, but we did get to see a lot of “off the beaten” path sites. He wanted everyone to enjoy the sights and would often say “look out, we may never see this again” even if it was just a field or random town, he wanted us to enjoy the experience. He was quiet but also had a sharp sense of humor and would often catch people off guard with his great humor and timing.
He was a family man and lived for his kids, grandkids, and great grand kids. He was so happy to see all the grandkids with their babies. His greatest joy was to be around his family and watch all the activity around him. He stayed in touch and would call his family multiple times a day and usually towards the end of the call he would always say “thank you” even if we weren’t doing anything for him. He was famous for not usually saying bye and just randomly hanging up the phone when he was finished with his conversation. He didn’t ramble or talk a lot but when he did speak it was usually something that he felt needed to be said. He was a great father and lived for his family. His greatest joy was his kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. He had a unique relationship with every one of them and they all loved their Papaw.
He leaves behind a loving wife, Marilyn Smith; five children, Donna Bryan, Fain (Donna) Smith, Todd Smith, Tabra (Marc) Wischkaemper, Brandi DeLong. Terry was also blessed with eleven grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. Terry is also survived by his brothers, Dudley (Linda) Smith, and Dennis (Jo Beth) Smith; and a sister-in-law, Judy Smith.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Lois Smith; and a brother, Don Smith.
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