Ira was born on May 8,1933 in Toms River, New Jersey. He was the youngest child of Effie and John Smith. Ira attended elementary school in Toms River, New Jersey, later attending High School in Bordentown , New Jersey. Ira studied carpentry and was very active in football and ROTC. He also had a great interest in electronics, and the way things worked. He was very proud of his high school, which was featured in a documentary on the History Channel entitled: “A Place Out of Time.” Ira graduated in 1951 and stayed in Toms River, New Jersey working different jobs. It was during this time that he met the love of his life, Jean. During the summer of 1952, he joined the United States Air Force and trained as a Tail Gunner on a B-26, while stationed at Lawry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. In early 1954, Ira was deployed to Korea. Later that same year, Ira came home on a short visit, and married his beloved, Jean. They raised six beautiful children. Everywhere that Ira stationed, the family traveled with him except for a year in Viet Nam, where he was exposed to Agent Orange. Ira spent twenty years in the Air Force and retired at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, which became his home. Ira received his Nevada State Contractor’s License and started his own business, Interior Comfort Air Conditioning and Heating. Ira’s company was very involved during the construction of the Forum Shoppes in Caesar’s Palace. Ira was the first African American to obtain a State Contractor’s License in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1995, Ira was diagnosed with cancer, as a result of his Agent Orange exposure. Despite the diagnosis, he still had a lot of living to do, and he did. He and Jean traveled all around the country in their motor home and lived a full life, fully enjoying the precious moments that they shared. Ira Smith leaves behind his wife: Jean Smith; children: Joanne Geathers, Iris White, Theresa Jones, Donna Stark, Jeffrey Smith, and Stephen Smith; thirteen grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, and many more friends and family. One of the things that everyone says is “Papa can fix anything and do everything.” That saying would always bring a smile to his face. Ira never walked away from a challenge. Friends and family would agree, Ira was always willing to lend a hand or a tool to anyone who needed it. Ira was such an amazing man who warmed the hearts of everyone he met.
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