John S Smith

John S. “Scotty” Smith died Thursday, September 30, 2016. He is survived by his wife of almost sixty-seven years, Myrtice Smith, his daughter, Rosemary S. Armstrong, his granddaughter, Ashley Scott Armstrong and step-granddaughter, N. Garrison Burton. He was pre-deceased by his son, John Scott Smith, Jr. Scotty was born in Lake City, Florida, but spent the bulk of his youth and teenage years in Oglethorpe, Macon County, Georgia, graduating from high school there. After graduating from high school in 1944, Scotty enlisted in the United States Navy. His naval career concluded in 1945, as World War II came to an end. Having saved the bulk of his earnings while in the Navy, Scotty returned to Oglethorpe where he became an entrepreneur opening a grocery store he named Scotty’s Cash & Carry which he successfully operated for ten years. He married Myrtice in 1949; and, six years later, they had their first child, John Scott Smith, Jr. In 1956, Scotty was offered an opportunity to work for the Georgia Department of Revenue. He made the difficult decision to sell the store and become a field auditor for the Department in its regional office located in Columbus, Georgia. Scotty’s intellect, diligence, work ethic and managerial skills were soon recognized and rewarded as he was promoted to regional manager of the Department’s Albany, Georgia office, four years later. He continued his career with the Department for thirty-two years, retiring in 1988. Over the course of that thirty-two year career, Scotty continued to distinguish himself, receiving multiple promotions resulting in his move to the Atlanta area in 1976. He was consistently recognized for his management skills and received the Manager of the Year Award from then Governor, George Busbee. Scotty had a unique gift in his ability to assess an employee’s strengths and weaknesses. He was able to maximize an employee’s strengths to benefit both the employee and the Department, as well as support and improve an employee’s weaknesses. He was beloved by his employees and co-workers. At the time of his retirement, Scotty was Director of Field Services with responsibility for the Department’s nine regional offices and over nine hundred employees.

In retirement, Scotty continued his love of learning. He had three goals, (1) obtain his real estate license; (2) learn how to play golf; and (3) learn how to speak Spanish. He accomplished the first two; however, acquisition of the Spanish language eluded him. Scotty’s golfing buddies never ceased to be amazed at his ability to have every shot straight and down the middle having taken up the game in retirement. It was simple, Scotty set his mind to it and was willing to practice, practice, practice. Scotty loved gardening, collecting coins and collecting arrowheads. Above all, Scotty was a devoted Christian and family man. His greatest desire was to instill the love of learning in his children and grandchildren. Scotty was a member of Zion Baptist Church in Covington, Georgia.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 4, 2016, at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mt. Vernon Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338. The family will receive friends at a reception immediately following the service. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be given to Ocmulgee National Monument Association, Inc., 1207 Emery Highway, Macon, Georgia 31217.