William Jesse Smith Jr.

December 7, 2017

William Jesse Smith, Jr., 90, passed away peacefully at home on December 7th. He was predeceased by his parents, William J. Smith, Sr. and Nina Spaine Smith, the love of his life and his wife of 56 years, Barbara Inez Smith, half brothers, Robert Smith and Bernard Smith and half-sister Marion Rich. He was a World War II Veteran and served in the Army Airforce Headquarters 79th Fighter Group as an Intelligence Noncommissioned Officer. He worked for over 40 years as an engineer and project manager for Virginia Chemicals, which later became Hoechst Celanese. “Bill” was an active member of Churchland Baptist Church where he earlier served as a deacon and particularly enjoyed being a member of the Fellowship Sunday School class. He was a member of the Walter Gardner Coffee Club where he excelled at finding speakers for the meetings. He was also a Freemason. He is survived by his children Ed and Beth, a nephew Fred Smith (Connie), two nieces, Joyce Saller, Barbara Ann Rich and a special little dog named Tillie. The family would like to say a special thank you to Dr. Charles Lisner and his staff for many years of care. We would also like to thank Bon Secours Hospice. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s name may be made to Churchland Baptist Church or to the Suffolk Humane Society. A funeral service will be held at 1pm Tuesday in Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens Mausoleum. The family will receive friends in the Loving Funeral Home Monday from 3-4pm.