Eugene George Smith

A Memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church in Iowa Park, TX on January 20, 2024 at 11am with Rev. Don Pellikan officiating. A family only interment will be at Quanah Memorial Park. The family is extremely thankful to House of Hope and Hospice for the loving care our parents received. The family suggests memorials to First United Methodist Church in Iowa Park.

George was born in Texola, OK, the 10th of 14 children, and spent his early years on the family farm near Lebanon, OK. George left home when he was 16, living and working in Frederick, OK as night shift security for a cotton gin. He left Frederick and went to Quanah, TX to live with his oldest sister Louise’s family, working at their gas station. In 1950, Frank R. Robinson from Monahans, TX, who owned and operated a petroleum drilling rig, was doing some exploratory drilling in Hardeman County for Gulf Oil. Frank pulled into the gas station where George was working and asked if he knew of anyone who would want to work for him. George asked how much. Frank offered a salary 3 times more than the gas station wages so George told him he was available. He was hired on the spot and George relocated to Monahans.

The Korean war had started in 1950, George joined the Army Air Corp to serve his country in July 1950. He served three years stationed at Lackland AFB (San Antonio, TX), Tyndall AFB (Panama City, FL), RAF Bentwaters (Ipswitch, UK), and Holloman AFB (Alamogordo, NM) as a military policeman. After his Air Force honorable discharge, Frank R. Robinson kept his promise and offered George a job as a “hot shot” driver for his drilling rigs in the Permian basin.

In 1953 while stationed at Holloman AFB he met the love of his life Martha Jane Brandon while visiting his sister Louise in Quanah. George relocated back to Quanah in April 1954 proposing to Martha around Easter. George and Martha were married in June 1954 and were married for nearly 69 years. Their life together began in Quanah, later moving to Andrews, TX; Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina; Wichita Falls; and finally settling for over 50 years in Iowa Park. Both were active members of the First United Methodist Church. George was also a member of the Masonic Lodge since 1959. He was a proud member of the Choctaw Nation. They were blessed with three wonderful sons and their wives who they loved dearly.

George spent 25 years working for oilfield service companies in the Permian basin and North Texas. For the first few years he worked as a drilling roughneck, then he began a 20 year span working for Halliburton and Baker Oil Tools. He was a bonafide expert on downhole service tools used in the oil patch. In 1977, George partnered with his brother-in-law Gene Dunston and founded Dunith Oil Company. Oil well #7 on the Foster Lease “was a gusher” providing funding to expand their production over the next several years. During the Dunith years, he taught valuable life lessons on the merit of hard work and oilfield ingenuity to each of his sons. In his later years he raised cattle and was a “car hauler” for Herb Easley Auto dealership.

It was fitting that George joined the Air Force as he later obtained his pilot’s license. In 1981 he purchased a 1965 Piper Cherokee and in 1982 a 1957 Beechcraft “V-tail” Bonanza. George loved flying across the southwest on adventures with his family. A memorable 1985 trip was an excursion to Dore Lake Lodge in Saskatchewan, Canada where George flew with his “twenty something” sons, 2 of whom were also pilots. Decades worth of fishing stories were born from this northern adventure. George and Martha loved cruising in their retirement years visiting Alaska, many ports in South America, Caribbean, Canada, US west coast cities, and Europe. George was an outdoorsman who loved camping, hunting, fishing, searching for arrow heads, polishing rocks, and watching the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, and friend. He leaves a great legacy and will be deeply missed.

George was preceded in death by his wife Martha (May ‘23), parents Dick and Dora Mae Smith of Lebanon Oklahoma, and 11 of his 14 siblings.

George is survived by his sons Mark Smith (Candye) of Monahans, Steve Smith (Kathy) of Flower Mound, and Les Smith (Amy) of Cypress; by his grandchildren Crystal Burchfield (Aaron) of Greenwood; Cheyenne Thaggard (Joe) of Odessa; Colt Smith (Cassandra Johnson – fiancé) of Monahans; Kathrina Ocampo (Johnathan) of Houston; Benton Smith of Norman, OK; Andrew Smith (Anna Perretta) of Tempe, AZ; Jillian Gibson (Andrew) of Austin; Sarah Smith of San Antonio; great-grandchildren Reagan, Rhett and Reed Burchfield, Presley and Paige Thaggard, Reese and Hayden Smith, Olivia and Camilla Ocampo; and two sisters Floy Stewart (Wendell) of Lebanon and Delnia Crum (Bryan) of Robson Ranch.