Jake Smith

Jake Smith went home to the Lord on November 4, 2025. Across 82 years of his indomitable life, his devotion was to his family. His parents- Jewel Armstrong Smith and Jim Smith- welcomed Jake on September 22, 1943. After surviving meningitis as a child, Jake became the pampered baby of the family according to his older siblings Betty (Smith) Martinez and Jack Smith. In 1961, Jake graduated from Central High School and earned a scholarship to Central State (now, the University of Central Oklahoma). Jake forwent the scholarship for the love of his life when he married Genevieve “Sissy” Griffith on October 21, 1961. The newlyweds moved to California to start their life. After three weeks in the Golden State, Jake missed his parents so much, they returned home to central Oklahoma where they lived for their 64-year marriage. Jake started a career as a search and rescue diver with the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OKCFD). The couple welcomed three children- Glenda, Jennifer and Jimmy- to their family. A devoted father, Jake particularly enjoyed rebuilding a Dodge Red Demon car for Glenda, coaching Jennifer’s basketball team, and teaching Jimmy the construction trade and how to noodle. On weekend evenings, the children were entertained by board games while Jake enjoyed cheap alcohol and good times with his lifelong friend Floyd Martin. A severe injury sustained in a building fire brought an abrupt end to Jake's OKCFD career. After a year of rehabilitation, Jake made a full recovery and started a construction business allowing him to spend more time with his family and eventually his young grandchildren. His business flourished taking him to Cuba and across the United States. Jake never met a stranger, enjoyed lively debate, and thought religion and politics were appropriate topics for dinner conversations. In his retirement, Jake loved woodworking and watching bad vampire movies in his home in Mulligan Flats where he grew up.

Jake’s family will forever treasure their memories of him, including the shock and surprise of what he might say next. He is preceded in death by his first-born child, Glenda Smith and his siblings Betty Martinez and Jack Smith. He is survived by his wife, Genevieve Smith; his daughter Jennifer (Alan) Apple and his son Jimmy (Melanie Borger) Smith; his seven grandchildren Nathan Smith, Grace (Kyle) Meaders, Martha Apple, Sarah Apple, Maksim Smith, J. Conrad Borger III, and Sebastian Borger; and his great-granddaughter Diana Meaders.

Loved ones will come together at the graveside to remember Jake at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 8, 2025. He will be laid to rest beside Glenda and his parents at Chapell Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting potted plants for Sissy’s apartment garden.