Milton Dixon Smith

Born on July 4, 1935, in East St. Louis, Illinois, Milt was a remarkable man known for his kindness and caring for others. Known as 'Smitty' to those close, he could always be found doodling a character or creating a logo. As an artist at heart, he not only enjoyed creating with his pens, he loved educating. One of his first jobs was at Emge Junior High School, where he taught Art, Health and Math and coached basketball.

Education was important to Milt. Not only was he a teacher and coach, but he also served as a member of the Belleville Area College (now known as Southwestern Illinois College) Board of Trustees. Having attended the University of Illinois, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, he later graduated from Southern Illinois University with his Bachelor's degree.

Joining in 1961, he was a Master Mason with the St. Clair Lodge #24 in Belleville, Illinois. Milton, 32° Scottish Rite Valley of Southern Illinois, was active within the Demolay Legion of Honor and a Past Dean of the Egyptian Preceptory of Southern Illinois.

Milt also served as Chairman of SCORE, helping small businesses grow and thrive and was an Advisory Board Member for West Pointe Bank and Trust (Now Commerce Bank). He was also instrumental in founding the Belleville Angel of Hope.

Spending thirty-five years in the pharmaceutical business, he worked his way up from Territory Representative at Warner-Lambert to Director of Sales and Government Relations for Rhone Poulenc Rorer.

Milt enjoyed playing tennis or golf regularly, but he was most often happy spending time with the wife he treasured and the family he adored. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Teddi Ann Smith, and his parents, Hamilton and Genevieve, nee Graves, Smith.

Surviving are his wife of sixty-eight years, Judith Ann Smith, nee Ziehnert; son, Scott Dixon (Geoffrey) Smith; daughters, Kimberly Ann (James) Andritsos and GiGi Ann (Robert) Spory; and four grandchildren, Teddie Ann Andritsos (Kyle) Brune, Christifer Dixon Andritsos, Robert Alex Spory, and Georgia Ann Spory. Also surviving is brother, James Smith and family.

The family would like to thank the staff at Freeburg Care Center for their outstanding care and compassion, as well as, Hospice of Southern Illinois for their support in the final days.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made on behalf of Milton D. Smith to the Foundation Fighting Blindness online at https://donate.fightingblindness.org/webdonation or by mail to P.O. Box 45740, Baltimore, Maryland 21297-5740.

The family will be hosting a private service on Friday, February 21, 2025 followed by a Celebration of Life at Bella Milano in O’Fallon from 12:00pm - 2:00pm.