Richard Gale Smith

Richard earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas. He spent his career as a dedicated Chemical Engineer at Dow Chemical Company and Westlake Petrochemical Company.

Throughout his life, Richard was an active member of several church communities, including the First Baptist Church of Lake Jackson, Texas, the First Baptist Church of Sulphur, Louisiana, and the First United Methodist Church of Pearland, Texas where he volunteered his time with the production teams.

A passionate golfer, Richard was an active member at the Pearland Golf Club. He also had a deep love for sports and was a loyal fan of the Houston Oilers (and later the Houston Texans), the Houston Rockets, the Houston Astros, and the Texas A&M Aggies.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Addie Ezell Smith of Odem, TX; his son, Corby Smith of Lake Jackson, TX; his sisters, Freddie Kay Comer (Joe), of Longview, TX; Violet Voges (Leonard) of New Braunfels, TX; and Lila Calhoun (Lindon) of Wimberly, TX; his grandchild, Amanda Smith of Houston, TX; his great-grandchild Dahlia Smith of Houston, TX; and his nephews Joey Comer of Longview, TX and Kim Blevins of Longview, TX.

Those left to remember him fondly are his loving wife of 31 years, Shirley Fay (Doolan) Smith; his sons, Jay Smith (Bea) of Pflugerville, TX, and Rody Kuchar (Donna) of Pearland, TX; his daughter, Tara Belote (Donnie) of Angleton, TX; his grandchildren, Kyle Smith and Anthony Jelinek; Ava, Elle and Caleb Smith; Savannah Kuchar; and Bryan Belote (Nicole). He is also survived by several great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

A visitation for Richard will be held Friday, April 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM at First United Methodist Church Pearland, 2314 N. Grand Blvd, Pearland, TX, followed by a memorial service at 2:00 PM with Senior Pastor Reggie Clemons to officiate.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Richard's memory may be made to Ronald MCDonald House Charities, rmch.org.