John Daniel Smith was called home to heaven on Thursday night, January 16th, 2025 at Chisolm Place in Abilene, TX. He was 87 years old when he died.
John was born on July 5th, 1937 in Americus, GA to DeWitt & Nellie Smith. He was a baby when his father died suddenly while working in the fields. His mother couldn’t raise 5 young children on her own, so her brother Herbert MacDonald brought the family to his home in Florida, so he could help raise them. Johnny had a poor, but happy childhood. He joined the Navy at 17, with his mother’s signed permission. He proudly served in the Navy for 22 years and retired as a Chief Bosun’s Mate. He met the love of his life, Betty Mae Coen, on a Greyhound Bus traveling from Florida to Virginia. He bought her some juice, and she was hooked! They had 3 dates, and were married on March 27th, 1962. They started having children right away, Suzy, Tina & Tommy. They lost 3 babies, Douglas, Thomas & Amy. Before coming to Texas, they were stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the early 1970’s, they were sent to Kingsville, TX, and they made it their permanent home. Johnny retired from the Navy and stayed to work at Kingsville NAS as a plumber. He retired with 42 years of service in the Navy & at Kingsville NAS. In their retirement years, John & Betty traveled to West Virginia and all over the state of Texas to watch their grandkids in their events. Betty was taken early at 66 years old. This was hard on John D, but he had the church. He served as a deacon for many years doing the building maintenance & grounds keeping and opening & closing the church. He served his church family by driving the older ladies to doctor’s appointments. He bought a van specifically for wheel chair bound members. He was always helping them with whatever needed fixing in their world. He never accepted money, but he was always happy to be paid with a pie or a pot of beans. In 2018 he needed more medical care, so he came to Abilene to be near Suzy so she could help. Those were tough years because he always wanted to be back home in Kingsville, but everywhere he stayed he was greatly loved by all.
John is preceded in death by his father DeWitt, his mother Nellie, his children Douglas, Thomas & Amy, his siblings Robert, William, Elsie & Shirley, and his beloved wife of 42 years Betty Mae. He is survived by three children, Becky “Suzy” Spargo (& her husband Gary), Tina Thomas (& her husband Patrick) and Thomas Smith (& his wife Angela). He has 6 grandchildren, Kayla Kainer (& her husband Trent), Kelsea Gauthier (& her husband Harrison), Hunter Thomas (& his wife Samantha), Will Smith, Ashleigh Jimenez (& her husband Manuel) and Bethany Smith. He has 9 great-grandchildren, Lyla & Davis Kainer, Kinley, Coen & Hudson Gauthier, and Vincent, Sterling & Henry Thomas and Trey Jimenez…