Woodrow Smith Jr.

Woodrow Smith Jr, (Woody as he was known to many of his friends), was born on August 30, 1938 to Nellie and Woodrow Smith in Chattanooga, TN. Woody was one of four children born to this union and was an active member of Friendship Baptist Church. He graduated from Howard High School, in 1956 and went on to receive an Engineering Degree in Commercial Industries at Tuskegee University in 1961. In 1962, he moved to California to work in the aerospace industry. In 1967 he met and married Mary Alyce Adams, and had two children, Woodrow III and Jason. In 1972, Woody achieved another educational milestone by earning a Master of Science-Business Management from UCLA. Woody definitely marched to the beat of his own drum when it came to choosing his career path. After graduation from Tuskegee, Woody moved to California in 1963 to work as an Electronic Design Engineer at General Dynamics in Pomona. From 1965-1970, he was an Engineering Scientist in the Missile & Space Division of McDonnell Douglas in Santa Monica, CA. He changed his path after receiving his Master’s Degree and was an Assistant Vice President -Commercial Loans, at Bank of America from 1972-1975. Feeling the need to branch out on his own, Woody founded Woodrow Smith Financial Consultants in 1975. He also loved to teach and taught business management at Los Angeles City College and UCLA Extension. He was an in-house course leader for the American Management Association for 25 years. In 1986 the opportunity to own a McDonald’s franchise brought the family to Las Vegas where he was the first Black owner/operator in the city. In addition to McDonald’s, Woody and Mary Alyce owned a postal service center in Henderson, two Great American Cookie franchises in California, and a screen printing business in Las Vegas. After retiring, Woody felt he still had something more to offer the world, and became an adjunct professor at the College of Southern Nevada, where he taught business management until his illness, in 2015. Woody believed in being healthy and loved to jog and go to the gym. But his favorite activity later became vacationing on cruise ships. His goal was 100 cruises, so with unwavering resolve, long-range planning, and attention to every minute detail, he and Mary Alyce managed to go on 45 cruises before his diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension and ALS brought his life to a standstill. When Woody was on a cruise, he met no strangers and nearly half of the passengers knew his name before each cruise was over. Woody loved life and enjoyed meeting people and sharing his knowledge on any subject (whether requested, or not). Not being able to speak the last 10 months of his life was one of the tragedies of ALS and pulmonary hypertension, which finally compromised his quality of life. Woodrow is survived by Mary Alyce, his wife of 50 years; sons, Woodrow III (Amy), Aurora, IL; Jason Edward (Suzanne), Las Vegas, NV; daughter, Kirstie Kirby (Michigan); grandsons, Ryan Novak-Smith (Johnston, RI) and Jason Taylor (Las Vegas, NV); granddaughters Tiara Smith (Las Vegas, NV) and Mya and Payton Kirby (Michigan); brother Maurice (Taeko), Los Angeles, CA; sisters Wenda Faye Williams (Chattanooga, TN); Mary Alice Collier (Stone Mountain, GA); and a host of nieces, nephews, and friends. Woodrow is predeceased by his parents; son, Gerald; and brother, Leonard. A Tribute God saw you getting weary and did what He knew was best; He put his arms around you and took you home to rest. It broke our hearts to lose you but you did not go alone. For part of us went with you the day God called you home. Your Loving Family