Donald Lee Smith

Donald Lee Smith Sr., age 83, of Richmond, Virginia, peacefully passed away on Friday, August 20, 2021 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond. He was the beloved husband of 26 years to Jean Smith who were parishioners of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Richmond. Don is survived by his loving daughter Cindy Martin and her husband Jim, son Don, and daughter Sandy; loving stepdaughters Elizabeth Salmon and her husband Stuart, Emily Halcon and her husband Richard; his brother Clifford Smith and wife Kim; niece Lisa and nephew Eric; and sister-in-law Brenda Shadle. Don was blessed with eight grandchildren who adored him: Carly, Audrey, Chloe, Caroline, Reid, Elliott, Andrew and Graham. He was born and raised in Bangor, Pennsylvania and is the son of Clifford and Dorothy Smith, graduated from Bangor High School in 1956 and was proud of his military service in the U.S. Navy completing boot camp at Bainbridge NTC, Maryland and assigned to Norfolk, Virginia where he worked and trained as an IBM operator. After his four years in the U.S. Navy Service, he relocated to NJ, began his career as a computer programmer at Mobil Oil, Ford Motors, and McGraw-Hill. Years later, he relocated to Richmond, Virginia and had a long career at Peeples and McKesson. During his retirement years, he enjoyed his employment as a driver at Carquest delivering car parts. As a huge sports fan, Don loved the NY Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys and the NY Rangers. Mickey Mantle was his idol. Don was proud to be a minor league baseball pitcher, and later an umpire for Little League and intramural baseball. His other passion was tending to his lawn as he was proud to have the greenest grass in town. In 2018, Don was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia which he, his wife and family coped with making Don as comfortable as possible in his last years. He will be missed. Funeral services will be held at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 1400 Horsepen Rd, Richmond, VA 23226 at 12 pm on Friday, August 27, 2021 followed by a church reception. A private family burial will take place later that day. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions in Donald Smith’s name to: Greater Richmond Alzheimer’s Association, 4600 Cox Rd #130, Glen Ellen, VA 23060, Phone: 804-967-2580, Website donation: www.alz.org/grva.