Thursday, May 2, 2024
Thomas Winston (Tommy) Smith, 80, of Hico, passed away on Dec. 3, 2023 at his home after a short illness. He was born April 15, 1943 in Lampasas County to Jesse James (Jim) Smith and Gladys Murrah Smith, of Pearl.
Tommy attended public schools in Pearl and Evant, graduating from Evant High School in 1961. After high school, he married his high school sweetheart, Patsy Jean Comer, and they moved to Dallas where he was employed by Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Southland Corporation, Ligget & Myers Tobacco Company, and Hershey foods Corporation. In 1978, he moved to Granbury where he founded the Tommy’s convenience store chain, which he sold in 1993. In the ensuing years, he was a home builder and land developer primarily in Hood and Somervell counties. In 2002, Tommy married Joan Ruth Tubbs.
At various times of his life, Tommy enjoyed hunting, fishing, playing cards, coin collecting, and watching the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, and Dallas Cowboys. He loved spending time with family and friends and was an avid and skilled woodworker after his retirement in 2004.
Tommy is preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Gladys Smith, his brother, James Wendell Smith, and his sister, Faye Blakley. He is survived by his wife, Joan, and his children, Kellie Smith Kellner and husband, Mike, of Argyle, and Jim Ed Smith and wife, Christine, of North Richland Hills, and his step-children, Wesley Bennett and wife, Summer, of Godley, Stephanie Fisher, of Ruidoso, NM, and Edith Jones and husband, Johnathan, of Munford, Alabama. Tommy is also survived by 16 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Tommy’s life will be held on Jan. 6, 2024. Riley Funeral Home in Hamilton is in charge of the arrangements.
