Robert Smith's Obituary
Mr. Robert Emmitt Smith was born on November 14, 1930 in
Natchitoches, Louisiana to parents, Emmitt and Ella Thrash Smith.
Robert graduated from Central High School. He accepted Jesus Christ
as his Lord and Savior as a young teenager and was baptized in the
Cane River in front of St. Mary’s Baptist Church in Natchitoches.
Robert was joined in Holy Matrimony to Mildred Delores Cinermon on
August 17, 1952. To this union, seven children were born: Milton
Wayne, Stanley Gerald, Ella Marie, Cynthia Ann, Bruce Aaron, Pamela
Arleen, and Arthur Darryle Smith.
He left a job as a cook/baker at Northwestern College and moved to
St. Louis in 1961 for a job at McDonnell-Douglass (now Boeing). He
briefly worked for the St. Louis Division of General Motors Assembly
Plant. In 1964, he began working for the Missouri Department of
Mental Health’s Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center. He worked there
as a cook, then baker, then Baker II (supervisor of the bakery) until his
retirement twenty-three years later in 1995. When he retired, the State
of Missouri deleted his position, making him the last baker to work for
the State.
He was known to his many loved ones as Robert, Bob, Bo, Daddy,
Daddy-Rob, Uncle Robert, Granddaddy, Grandpa, Mr. Smith, role model,
family handyman, end-times Bible prophet, and the family patriarch.
His passions included carpentry, designing and making furniture,
repairing anything that was broken, and listening to smooth jazz, blues,
and spirituals. He loved discussing the Bible, politics, and current events
and would watch CNN and MSNBC for hours every day. He also enjoyed
family get-togethers and was known as the family expert for making the
dough for sweet potato pies and Natchitoches meat pies.
On the afternoon of September 30, 2022, our Heavenly Father called
His “good and faithful servant” to his heavenly home. He was preceded
in death by his parents, three brothers, four sisters, and two sons:
Bruce Aaron (Evelyn) Smith and Arthur Darryle (Nadine) Smith.
He leaves to cherish his memory: his beloved wife of seventy years ~
Mildred; his “baby” brother ~ Felton (Denise) Smith; his sister ~ Jackie
(Clifford) Blake; sisters-in-law ~ Rose Timmon, Loretta Smith, and Annie
Smith; his children ~ Milton (Iris) Smith, Stanley (Jamesetta) Smith, Ella
(Walter) Duncan, Cynthia (Steven) Johnson, and Pamela (Mark) Wingo;
fourteen grandchildren; sixteen great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces,
nephews, cousins, other relatives, and friends.
What’s your fondest memory of Robert?
What’s a lesson you learned from Robert?
Share a story where Robert's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Robert you’ll never forget.
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