DAVID M. SMITH
1932-2017
After enjoying Charis’ home-cooked supper with an ice-cold Coca-Cola, David Madison Smith ate a scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, his signature dessert, and went to sleep. It was in his sleep that he died on the morning of Sunday, November 19, 2017. He was 85 years old.
David was born in El Paso, Texas on June 7, 1932 to Forrest Moseley Smith and Harriet Lapham Heermans Smith. He and his older brothers, “Bim” and “Buddy,” grew up on Kern Place, attended Dudley (Fair Dudley – the school song he taught his children) Grade School and El Paso High School. During summers, he worked at his Uncle Hope’s Magnolia Bottling Company loading trucks and selling Coca-Cola. He collected paper and aluminum as part of the War Effort during WWII. And as part of the War Effort, David grew a Victory Garden which he felt should have been called a Disaster Garden since it resulted in but two radishes. This garden taught him to hate vegetables.
The year David turned 12 years old, he was invited on the Espy Deer Hunt in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. To him, the finest thing he could conceive of was to be invited mule deer hunting on Mr. J. W. Espy’s huge ranch north of Ft. Davis. He hunted on the Espy Ranch for the next fifty years sharing his love of that land – especially Star Mountain – with countless friends and family.
David attended the University of Texas at Austin where he earned a BBA. His real education took place at Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia where he graduated as a first lieutenant. It was in Infantry School that he learned valuable lessons – an MBA, if you will - to which he applied to his many business ventures. The Korean Conflict ended just as David was due for overseas deployment.
After his time in the Army and a short stint in Albuquerque, New Mexico, David moved to Houston, Texas. There he met Charis Jeanne Wedgeworth whom he married on December 28, 1961. They joined South Main Baptist Church and David founded, managed, and grew Chemical Exchange Industries (CXI), Inc. and Texmark Chemicals, Inc. He raised a family with Charis and he pursued business ventures such as bell making, food service enterprises, nutcracker manufacturing, saddle case manufacturing, banking in Dime Box and Galena Park, collapsible campstool manufacturing, and book publishing. David supported countless causes with his time and money. He formed and shared strong opinions about many things with the countless friends he made along life’s way.
Preceded in death by his parents Forrest Moseley Smith and Harriet Lapham Heermans Smith, his brother Forrest “Buddy” Moseley Smith, Jr., his sister-in-law Elizabeth Sherley Gant Smith, David is survived by his wife Charis Jeanne Wedgeworth Smith, son David Madison Smith, Jr. and wife Sharon Davis Rogan Smith and their daughter Keegan Rogan, son Douglas Hope Smith, daughter Sarah Lilyan Smith Ragsdale and husband John Michael Ragsdale and their daughter Allyson Ragsdale, his brother Paul “Bim” Heermans Smith and sister-in-law Martha Anne Bruce Smith, plus numerous nieces and nephews along with their children and grandchildren whom David adored. A memorial service will be held Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 11:00am at South Main Baptist Church, Houston, Texas. The service will be live streamed at https://www.smbc.org/video/ live-streams
Contributions can be made to South Main Baptist Church 4100 Main Street, Houston TX 77002 and/ or the Alzheimer’s Association 6055 South Loop East, Houston TX 77087. Please share fond memories of David: davidmsmithstories@gmail.com