Elwin M. Smith

Elwin Miller Smith, 92, passed away early Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at his home on Merritt Island, Florida. Survivors include his daughters, Arlene Ring of Ocoee, and Karen “Kat” Smith of Los Angeles. He leaves a grandson, Jordan Ring, currently stationed in Anchorage, and many nieces and nephews. His wife of 68 years, Velma, passed away on December 30th of last year.

He was born in Erick, Oklahoma on January 30, 1928, to Houston Smith and Ruby Wilson Smith, the middle child in a family of seven children. He is predeceased by his brothers, Ellis, Carl, Francis and his sisters, Delene and Priscilla. His younger brother, Travis, lives in the family's hometown of Bethany, Oklahoma.

Elwin served two years in the Army, and later enlisted in the Air Force. As a pilot, he traveled the world. He was a member of the Strategic Air Command, flying B-47s over Russia. In Tachikawa, Japan, he served as Rescue Crew Commander for the 36th Air Rescue Squadron. He flew eight combat missions that year. In 1965, he was transferred to Patrick Air Force Base, where he assisted the Chief of the Recovery Division for the manned space flight program. As a member of the Recovery Control Staff at Mission Control in Houston, he was responsible for the recovery portion of the operations for space flights, including the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. After serving twenty years, Elwin retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel in 1970.

Following retirement, he went into the executive training program of the then-young Church's Fried Chicken, which took him to various cities around the country, including Fairbanks, Alaska. Elwin graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1963 with a degree in Business Management and Finance, and later went back to school for an Accounting degree from the University of Florida in 1972. In 1976, he established Al Smith’s Accounting & Tax Service on Harbor City Blvd. in Melbourne, which flourished for over a decade. Eventually, one of his most successful clients hired him to head his company’s accounting office, where Elwin worked until he retired.

In retirement, he enjoyed volunteering for the Seafarer’s Mission and serving as a trustee at the Eau Gallie First Baptist Church.

A funeral service will be held at Eau Gallie First Baptist Church at 11:30am on Saturday, September 19, 2020. Interment and military honors will follow at Florida Memorial Gardens.

Donations may be made in Elwin's name to the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 https://www.heart.org/