Smith, Robert Lee

A celebration of the life of Robert Lee Smith, 75, of Longview, 
will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 7, 2007, at the chapel of 
Rader Funeral Home, with the Reverend Gary Fredrick and the 
Reverend Jerry Turner officiating. Interment will follow in 
Memory Park Cemetery. Robert, a longtime Longview resident, 
passed away on March 4, 2007, surrounded by his loving family, 
after a long hard-fought battle with heart disease. He lived 
through his illness with great determination and courage, and 
he never lost his love of life. Born November 12, 1931, in Tyler, 
Texas, to Claude and Jo Smith, Robert was a seventh generation 
Texan who took great pride in his family and his heritage. He was 
a graduate of Kilgore High School and went on to attend the 
University of Texas, where he was a member of the Theta Xi 
fraternity, and he graduated with a business degree from the 
University of North Texas. He also served his country during the 
Korean War in the U.S. Army. Robert found great passion in many 
things. He was an avid aviator, flying his own plane for many 
years; during years in Houston, he loved to Þ ¤ spend time 
boating in the Galveston Bay, and he spent many hours tracing his 
family roots back to the first settlers in Texas. After retirement 
from a long career as an oil industry executive in Longview, 
Shreveport, La., and Houston, Robert found time to travel to 
destinations such as Alaska and Bangkok, and he took up hobbies 
in art and genealogy. Mr. Smith was preceded in death by his 
parents. He is survived by his children, Donna Ward and husband, 
Russell ,of Longview and Kelly Lugar and husband, John, of 
Arlington, Va.; grandchildren, Robert and Chase Ward of Longview 
and Preston and Griffin Lugar of Arlington, Va.; brother, Claude 
Smith of Longview; sister, Pat McGuffin of Longview; numerous 
nieces and nephews; a number of other relatives; and a special 
companion, his dog, Max. His family would like to express their 
deep and heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Crumpler and Dr. Yu for 
their commitment to and compassionate care for Robert, and a 
special thank you to Dr. Gerber, Dr. Kiser and the staff of the 
ICU at Good Shepherd Medical Center. The family asks that memorial 
donations be made to the American Heart Association. The family will 
receive family and friends from 5-7 p.m. this evening, March 6, 2007, 
at the funeral home. A memorial guestbook may be signed at 
www.raderfh.com.

Published in the Longview News-Journal on 3/6/2007.