Michael Joe Smith

Services for Michael Joe Smith, 26, of Jacksonville, will be at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007, at Autry Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Grady Higgs and the Rev. Donnie Sadler officiating, under the direction of Autry Funeral Home of Jacksonville. Burial will be at Union Chapel Cemetery in New Summerfield.

Mr. Smith died Jan. 3, 2007, in Kenedy County. He was born May 16, 1980, in Rusk.

He was co-owner of Joe Smith Farms, Inc. He was also a member of First Baptist Church of New Summerfield and was the church’s youth director.

He was preceded in death by son, baby Joe Smith. Survivors include his wife, Ashley Smith of Jacksonville; parents, Joe and Betty Lou Smith of Jacksonville; sister and brother-in-law, Rebecca and Mike Fink of San Dimas, Calif.; grandmother, Martis Wilson of Jacksonville; and aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Pallbearers include Justin Underwood, Josh Phillips, Todd Ryan, Steve Martin, Joe Shields, Juventino Deanda, Cameron Cullen and Juan Ramirez. Honorary pallbearers include Byron Carpenter, Bob Jones, Howard Jones, Windol Cook, Les Garland, Kenny Knable, James Michael Tarrant, Michael Jack Tarrant, Robert Hill and Fernando Rio.

Visitation will be 6-8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 5, 2007, at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church of New Summerfield Family Life Center Fund, P.O. Box 277, New Summerfield, Texas 75780.
 

Somber New Summerfield

By Jim Goodson

editor@jacksonvilleprogress.com

NEW SUMMERFIELD - About 150 mourners came to First Baptist Church in New Summerfield Thursday night to grieve for their loved ones Michael Smith, 26, Robert Loughmiller, 16, and John Wesley Gartman, 14. The young men were killed Tuesday night in a plane crash near Armstrong, Texas in Kenedy County. “The community is hurting, but the people are coming together to do what they need to do,” First Baptist Church Pastor Donny Sadler said. “We are actually holding up pretty well.” The church will be open for anyone wishing to talk to a pastor or anyone else who can help with their grief until 7 p.m. Friday. Visitations begin at 6 p.m. at Autrey Funeral Home (the young men’s obituaries are on page 3 of today’s Jacksonville Daily Progress).

Many people availed themselves of the opportunity to talk openly about the hurt they feel for the loss of Smith, Gartman and Loughmiller during a service at the church that began at 7 p.m. Fifteen Baptist pastors from churches throughout East Texas attended the service and will be available to help mourners during the trying days ahead, Rev. Sadler said.

The young men were all from New Summerfield and members of the church and its youth group, which Smith led. Smith was the son of Joe and Betty Lou Smith of Jacksonville, owners of Joe Smith Plant Farm.

“The Smith family goes back several generations in Cherokee County,” Rev. Sadler said. Friends stayed long after the service was over Thursday night to console each other. At the time of the accident, the plane was traveling from Weslaco to Jacksonville. Authorities believe the airplane crashed at approximately 9:30 p.m. The crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. The cause of the accident is unknown at this time.