Richard Daniel (Danny) Smith

On the evening of Tuesday March 19, our family lost our favorite man, Richard Daniel (Danny) Smith after an eight year battle with Lewy Body Dementia at age 69. It’s been a long hard goodbye, but in the end it was perfect. With his wife Melissa and daughter Kristyn on one side and his sister Jana and daughter Kelly on the other side and his two sons Trey and Sean and son-in-law Randy at his feet, his breaths slowed and he peacefully went to be with his Heavenly Father. Thank God in Christ Jesus for conquering death and the grave, for making all things new and for your promise of redemption! Our pain in this loss is deep but we are also excited for my dad to gain his new spiritual body and leave his old one behind. “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’” 1 Cor. 15:54-55

To know Danny Smith was to love him. He made everything brighter and burdens lighter. A man of few words but somehow had just the right ones. He put things into perspective. He made you feel like there was nothing too hard, too complicated or too heavy. He always answered the phone with a hearty “Yellow!”, if asked how he was doing, he was always “hunky dory” or “just wunderful”, where’s mom? “on the roof”, or if someone called for her, “let me wake her up for you.” He modeled patience and generosity. He was a very smart man but more impressive was his wisdom. The best boat driver, the best at making egg breakfasts, the best at helping with math homework, the best tickler, the best joke teller. He was the strongest, hairiest, man around. With kind brown eyes and a bald head that would sweat when he ate spicy food. He was always the first one awake, running a business with wisdom and respectability. He always had his shirt tucked in and always smelled like aftershave. He could fix anything and wanted more than anything to help the people he loved. To know him was to love him.

Danny graduated from Carter High School with a tight knit class of 1968 and went on to Texas Tech University which resulted in many future pictures with his “guns up.” He was a mechanical engineer spending his working years in Air Conditioning, teaming up with his father to run Atlas Air Conditioning in Dallas, TX. His hobbies were flying his airplane (and terrifying Melissa), watching race cars (and for a short stint driving his own corvette), playing golf (which he quit every year), his annual waterski (a sight to behold) and holding grand babies to whom he was simply known as Pa.

He was the son of George W. (Dub) and Jo Ellen Smith and he is survived by his wife of 44.8 years Melissa Smith, four children and eleven grandchildren, Trey Vick, his wife Amanda and their children Travis, Audrey and Trevor; Kelly Revis and her sons Jake and Preston, Sean Smith, his wife Sheala and their children Cooper, Saige and Sawyer, and Kristyn Bartley, her husband Randy and their children Banner, Piper and Phineas. He is also survived by his sister Jana Smith and her daughters Taylor and Morgan.

We are looking forward to sharing more stories and a wonderful celebration of life on Saturday March 23 at 10:00 a.m. at the Door Church 2700 Denton Tap Rd. Coppell, TX 75019. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Danny’s name to our dear friend’s international ministry:

Josh Yates

For online donations: ywamorganic.org/donate/L20

Checks can be sent to:

YWAM Organic

PO Box 15579

Colorado Springs, CO 80935

(Please write “Yates” in the memo line to ensure he receives the donation.)