Edward J. Gilbert, Jr. U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Retired

Edward J. Gilbert, Jr., 71 of Ft. Smith passed away Tuesday, August 23, 2016. He was born November 18, 1944 in St. Louis, MO to the late Edward and Dorothy Gilbert. Ed was a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church and attended St. Boniface Catholic Church. He was a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant who served in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars. He was a member of the VFW, the American Legion, and the Air Force Association. He formerly worked at Nissan of North Little Rock and retired from auto sales management after 20 years.

Funeral Service will be 11:00 AM Friday, August 26, 2016 at St. Boniface Catholic Church with military honors and burial to follow at the Ft. Smith National Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Fentress Mortuary in Ft. Smith.

Ed is survived by his wife Suzan, two daughters; Kelly Shanks of Montgomery, IL and Bridget Doss of Oklahoma City, four sons; John Gilbert of Jacksonville, AR, Chris Gilbert of Oklahoma City, David Smith of Greenwood and Tyler Gilbert of Ft. Smith. He is also survived by 14 Grandchildren and 2 Great Grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be his four sons, son-in-law Mike Shanks, and his best friend Mike Porter.

Visitation will be 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Thursday, August 25, 2016 at the funeral home.

Memorials may be sent to the American Cancer Society Northwest Arkansas Office 5434 Walsh Ln, Ste 100 Rogers, Arkansas 72758 Or on line at http://www.cancer.org/.