Roy Maxell Smith(Tulia)

Tulia, Texas-Roy Maxell Smith was born on July 2, 1925, the youngest of five siblings, to Sidney Joseph and Ruth Vastie Lawson Smith. Despite growing up “dirt poor” during the depths of the Depression he had happy moments riding Tincey, the milk cow, toting his pet pig in a basket and playing with his brothers, Mix and Sid. He was well loved in his hometown. Maxell grew into a handsome man, balancing a tender heart with a hot temper, possessing a sharp wit, high intelligence and the reflexes of a prize fighter, a man known for his generosity. He never passed up the opportunity to weave a tale or tell a joke. He served as a signalman in the US Navy aboard the USS Izard DD 589 from 1942 to 1951 in WWII, where he met lifelong friends. Being only 17 when he enlisted, he was among the youngest crew and one of the last surviving members. During the Korean conflict, he served as an air controller at Patuxent River Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD. While attending college, on the GI Bill, at McMurry College in Abilene, Texas, Maxell met the love of his life, Zoe Evelyn Humphreys “Little Red”, with the pick-up line: “Pull in your ears, Red, here comes a mule buyer”, and then was too bashful to add, “and you’re not for sale”. Zoe Evelyn had been dating Maxell’s roommate in college, but Maxell informed her that you need to have more in common than a love for fudge to build a life. He chased her until she caught him, when she worked up the nerve to ask him for a Sadie Hawkins date. Maxell and Zoe Evelyn were married on August 29, 1951, in the First United Methodist Church in Tulia, Texas and began their married life in Stillwater, Oklahoma where Maxell was first a student at Oklahoma A&M College, and later an Asst. Prof. of Soil Science. He worked as a Soil Scientist throughout his career, which required the family to move fairly frequently, from Stillwater to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Poplar, Montana; back to Stillwater; to Fort Washakie in Wind River, Wyoming; back to Stillwater, then to Baker, Montana, Hyattsville, Maryland, Richmond, Virginia and Lincoln, Nebraska before finally returning to Zoe Evelyn’s hometown of Tulia, Texas in order to care for her mother. When they settled into their retirement home in Tulia, They proudly displayed a plaque announcing “Dun Movin” over the garage doors. In his later years, Maxell was often seen walking the streets of Tulia with their little dog, “Missy” close at his side. Maxell is preceded in death by his parents and four siblings. He is survived by his wife, one daughter and son-in-law: Annette and Tim Bailey of David City, Nebraska, one son: Shannon Smith of Lincoln, Nebraska, two granddaughters: Naomi Luedeke and Melissa Smith, two great granddaughters: Morgan and Harper Luedeke, all of Lincoln, Nebraska and a close friend: Vickie Smith. Roy Maxell Smith died Monday, August 31, 2015 in Tulia. The family will observe a private graveside burial. Memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 119 N. Briscoe, Tulia, Texas 79088. Online condolences may be made at www.kornerstonefunerals.com.