Robert "Army" Armistead Smith

Army grew up in Staunton, VA. He attended Staunton Military Academy, was in the corps at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and after graduation, joined the US Army as an officer. He became a member of the Army’s Special Forces or Green Berets. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Army earned a Bronze Star medal and other service decorations. He attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, studied Arabic and concentrated on Middle Eastern affairs. Army and Randie met in Monterey and married two years later. Rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Army’s 23 years of service included tours in Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Jordan as well as US military bases.

He earned an MBA at the College of William & Mary and utilized this business training in his career after retiring from military service. Army worked for an oil company specializing in drilling fluids, and later became a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch.

Army loved to golf, hunt, fish and coach Little League teams. He read extensively, was an avid college football fan and crossword puzzler. He collected model trains and military patches. He had a dry sense of humor, was good at telling jokes, and was jokingly known as the ranch hand at the family farm. He served as President of the Homeowners Association for The Retreat, volunteered at the Kingwood Trails Association and the Escape Center and held offices in the local golf organization OFWW. Army and Randie loved to travel, and went on numerous cruises and trips to different parts of the world.

Mr. Smith is survived by his wife of 50 years, Randie, children Kimberly Smith, Douglas Smith, Leslie and John Taylor, Keith Smith, as well as two grandsons, Kai and Logan Smith and their mother Paige Ducey.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 5, 2013 in the Chapel of Kingwood Funeral Home, 22800 Highway 59 North, Kingwood, TX 77339. A reception will be held directly following the service in the hospitality room of Kingwood Funeral Home. At the conclusion of the reception, an inurnment will take place at 2:15 p.m. at Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr., Houston, TX 77038.

In lieu of memorial flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to the United Service Organizations (USO) at P.O. Box 96322, Washington, DC 20090 or at www.uso.org. Donations can also be made to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund, 2600 Virginia Ave NW, Suite 104, Washington DC 20037 or at www.vvmf.org.