Willie Fred Smith

Fred was born in a barn* on August 19, 1941, near the rural community of Mattson, Texas in Haskell County, to Henry Wiley Smith and Hazel G. Smith. He was the sixth of their seven children. Fred was raised on a farm picking cotton, bailing hay, and generally raising cane with his siblings. On the family farm, Fred learned the value of hard work surrounded by the love and joys of a large and extended family. But mostly he learned he would rather work inside than in the hot sun his whole life.

Fred attended the Mattson community school where he graduated in 1959. He loved playing football, baseball, and basketball there, which developed into a lifelong love of sports.

Fred began college at Texas Tech University shortly after graduation from high school. A university degree was a long-term goal for Fred, interrupted at times both by service in the United States Army National Guard from 1966 to 1971, and on occasion a dearth of funding. After paying his own way through college working various jobs, including playing guitar in bands, he eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1970.

Fred met Halley Kay Pruser on a blind date arranged by mutual friends in 1966. They were married on January 27, 1968, in Winters, Texas. Together they raised two children, James Bradley Smith of Dallas, Texas and Patrick Gauntt Smith of Mukilteo, Washington.

Music was an enormous part of Fred’s life. He loved writing and performing music from his early youth. He played guitar, and sometimes tenor saxophone, in several bands including Fred Smith and the Country Edition. He put away his touring rig in the mid-1980s to spend more time with his children, but he continued playing music with friends and family the rest of his life.

Fred spent his career as a traffic manager for Dallas, Power & Light (later Texas Utilities) and at Ben E. Keith. But what he really cared about was people. Fred was a youth mentor and basketball coach, a Cubmaster and Scout leader, a Sunday school teacher, a newspaper columnist, an avid reader, fisherman and hunter. Fred was an elder at both First Presbyterian Church in Mabank, Texas, and then later at First Presbyterian Church of Mineral Wells. He was also a Rotarian, and a Mason. He was a fantastic collector and disseminator of tales equal parts fantastic, hilarious and true. Mostly.

Fred will be remembered as a loving and devoted husband, father, son, uncle, nephew, and a loyal friend. His presence will be greatly missed by the many lives he touched with his gentle demeanor, his warm smile, his jovial laugh, his patience, his grace and his humility. But mostly those who know him will miss the limitless and abiding love he shared with his family and friends.

Fred was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters, Myrtle Pate, Hazel Ann Bettis, and Margaret Smith, as well as his brother Hugh Smith.

He is survived by his wife Halley Kay Smith, his sons Brad Smith and Gauntt Smith; their spouses Michelle Eyrich and Karen Siscel-Smith; his grandchildren, Halley, Thomas and Theodore Smith; and his brothers Don and David Smith.

A memorial service will be held for Fred Smith at 1:00pm on August 15, 2026, at First Presbyterian Church in Mineral Wells, Texas. A reception will follow at the Crazy Water Hotel.

*Not really, but he loved saying this. And there was a kernel of truth in it. The house in which he was born was indeed later used as a barn many years after his birth. “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

You can follow the Memorial Service on the Facebook page of First Presbyterian Church of Mineral Wells: https://www.facebook.com/FirstPresbyterianMineralWells