Charles Eugene Smith, 87, went to be with his creator on April 6, 2020.
He was born Sept. 6, 1932 in Independence, Mo. to Theodore Franklin Smith and Coila Alva (Tienken) Smith.
Charles was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army and later ran for county assessor for Kansas City, Mo. He moved to the Phoenix metropolitan area in the 1970s. Charles joined the Camelback Mountain Lions Club where Barry Goldwater was a member and became its president. Through the Lions Club, Charles hosted a foreign exchange student, Yasuko Matsumoto, who became a lifelong friend and part of the family.
He spent the rest of his career working in the financial services industry. He received many awards during his working career. Charles never met a stranger and always knew everyone in his neighborhood. He loved having family and friends come to visit and he always had room for them to stay. Charles loved to travel as well as just find a back road and spend time sightseeing. One of his favorite places was Las Vegas for their shows and to show off his Black Jack skills. Of course, he was always a WINNER! He was an avid soccer fan. Charles played soccer until he was 65 years old. He loved watching the kids and grandkids play. Charles also had a deep love for animals. He loved the routine visits from the local wildlife.
Charles is survived by his eight children, Patricia (Jim) Phillippe, Marcia Velazquez, Marc (Mary) Smith, Susan (Rick) Cary, Heather (Dave) Hacker, Matthew (April) Smith, Abby Smith and Sara Leathers; 16 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Preceding him in death were his parents, Theodore Smith and Coila Jones; sister, Billie Smith King, brother, Gerald “Chris” Smith; and grandson, Ben Velazquez.
A celebration of life service will be held at a later date. Cremation will take place.
Lakeview Funeral Home & Crematory, 247 W. Johnson Rd., La Porte, (219) 362-3100 is handling the arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be directed to the donor’s local animal shelter in memory of Charles Eugene Smith.
Messages of condolence may be posted below on WNLP as well as at www.LakeviewFHC.com.