Ronell Smith

Ronell Smith was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 18, 1952 to the proud parents of Tillie and Howard Smith. He is the oldest of five brothers; Deryn, Dayle, Eric, Eroll, and Richard. Growing up, Ron, as he was lovingly called, was a good son who gave his parents an incredible amount of joy. He took great pride in watching over his little brothers and tremendously enjoyed school.

In 1965, Ron relocated from Massachusetts to Great Lakes, Illinois with his brothers, mother and stepfather, Richard Andrews. Richard was on active duty in the United States Navy. The family moved to various locations while Richard served his country. They eventually relocated to Long Beach, California where Ron played basketball and football at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. From Long Beach, they moved to Yokohama, Japan where Ron graduated from Nile C. Kinnick High School. No matter what school Ron attended, he maintained his reputation as an outstanding athlete and a friendly, “down to earth” person.

As Ron grew older, he, like his father, was given the nickname, “Smitty”. Known for his witty jokes and boisterous personality, Ron was very well liked and extremely popular. He had his own special words of endearment for his family and friends including, “jive turkey”, “home team” and “fish eyed fool”.

In 1971, Ron began his matriculation at California State University’s Fullerton campus. It was there that he met “His Lady”, Linda Annette Beckham. The two began dating and soon fell deeply in love. In 1978, Ron had a religious experience and soon thereafter was baptized at Melodyland Christian Center, located in Anaheim, California. Subsequent to his baptism, Ronell Smith and Linda Beckham were married in a romantic small chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In May of 1980, Linda and Ron gave birth to their first born, Tiffani Nicole. Six years later, they were blessed with their second child, Ronda Janelle. Everyone knew that Ron was “crazy” about his daughters. He was a loving and devoted father whose focus was to instill morals, class, and confidence in “his girls”. Ron stressed the importance of God, family, and education to Ronda and Tiffani at a young age. His success in this endeavor is evident in that “Ron’s girls” were transformed into “his beautiful young women”. Ron loved them deeply and they in turn loved their dad enormously.

In 2003, while attending a church service in Los Angeles, California, Ron met Pastor Clifford Green. He expressed his desire to preach the Word to the pastor. They discussed the religious experience Ron had in 1978. He soon became a member of First Baptist Church of Glen Valley of Riverside, California. Aspiring to become a minister himself, and anxious to begin preaching the Word, Ron began training with Pastor Green.

The two met consistently every Saturday for a year at Farmer Boys Restaurant located in Riverside. In between meetings, Ron heavily engaged in the Word, researching intensely and tenaciously, seeking the “truth”. He loved to share his findings with family members and friends.

In 2004, Ronnie preached his first sermon. His sermon was so great that he was granted his preacher’s license shortly thereafter. The emotion and fire he had when preaching always grabbed the attention of the church members. He was soon ordained and became known as “Reverend Ron Smith”. Reverend Ron continued preaching until he became ill.

Although he was hospitalized, Ron was still known to be a fighter. When doctors gave him a 5% chance of surviving a critical surgery, he proved them wrong by continuing to fight valiantly for an incredible five years. It was on Monday, December 30, 2013, that Ron went home to be with the Lord, where he reunited in heaven with his father Howard, brothers Eric and Eroll, Aunt Evelyn, and grandparents Flora and Antonio Rodrigues.

Ron leaves to cherish his memories: his wife, Linda, daughters, Tiffani and Ronda, grandson, Eric, mother, Tillie, stepfather, Richard and a host of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. His family takes comfort in knowing that Ron’s spirit is free and that he will continue to live on forever.