Ernest "Ernie" Clinton Smith

Ernest Clinton “Ernie” Smith, II, passed away peacefully on December 4, 2025, surrounded by family. Ernie was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, on January 31, 1953, the third of five children and the only son of Clifford Glen “Bud” Smith and Shirley Hall Smith.

Ernie did everything at top speed and with gusto. Called “Old Ern” by his grandmothers, they once baked chocolate chip cookies, intending to see just how many he could eat. His eldest sister reports the results as 36 cookies and a bellyache. No matter the number, we can be sure he liked them “a little burned” on the bottom. Always an early riser, his family woke one morning to find a pall of smoke hanging in the air; Ernie was long gone on his bicycle after cooking (at his trademark top speed) and eating many pieces of French toast! They could always tell when Ernie was out for the day, wandering around Rapid City on his bicycle, making stops at the dump, his grandmothers’ houses, and who-knows-where else, when they found an open loaf of bread, a package of bologna, and a bottle of ketchup on the kitchen counter.

Ernie spent much of his professional life in the road construction business, following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. Working in the Waco and Bryan areas, he was employed by several companies, including Young Brothers, Big Creek Construction, and Larry G. Smith Construction Machinery. Fulfilling a long-term desire for the open road, he spent his final working years driving 18-wheel trucks.

When Ernie was 63 years old, he was severely injured in a horrific industrial accident, resulting in the loss of one leg, forever altering the course of his life. He was never able to work again, a loss he felt acutely. He began his working life at the age of 10 with a paper route and was happily employed until the accident.

Ernie was preceded in death by his parents, his cousins Scott Markhus Smith and Cory Clinton Smith, nephew-in-law Josh Phelps, and great-nephew Waylon Wendelboe.

Ernie leaves behind: two sons, Clint and Dana Smith of Bastrop, Texas, and Justin Smith and Criselda Ayala of Cedar Creek, Texas; four grandchildren, Ethan and Eli Smith, and Camila Rose and Cora Darling Smith; four sisters, Pam and Roger Evans, Vicky and Gil Gray, and Sandee Smith-Mack, all of Rapid City, South Dakota, and Cindy and Randy Passmore of Lorena, Texas; seven nieces and two nephews, Gina Thomsen, Teri Ann Bertelsen, Tracey Gray, Tiffany Phelps, James Mack, and Colin Mack, all of Rapid City, South Dakota, Jenny Stevens of Hulett, Wyoming, Shirley Alderson of Bowman, North Dakota, and Bethany Mack of McGregor, Texas; the mother of his children, Debbie McCartney and John Batto of Austin, Texas; several great nieces and great nephews, and several great-great nieces and great-great nephews; and special house-keeper / daughter-by-choice, Francy Lilliana Arias.

The family invites you to join them for a Celebration of Ernie’s life, at 5:00 pm Saturday, January 31, 2026, at El Conquistador Restaurant, Bellmead Location, 901 North Loop 340, Waco, Texas 76705.