Joseph G Smith

Joe was born in Towanda, PA on November 8, 1931 to Joseph G. Smith Jr. and Carolyn Smith. Around the age of four, Joe and his mother moved to Miami Beach, and it’s here where he developed a love of, and a talent for, working on roadsters, race cars, stock cars, and eventually, antique Fords.

Florida issued driving permits at age 14, and Joe took full advantage of that. While in high school in the late 1940s, he got a job as a parking valet at the famous Old Forge Restaurant in Miami Beach. Joe would often tell the story of how the monsignor at his high school – who became a mentor to him - helped him get the job, and he warned Joe that if his school grades dropped, he could “kiss that job goodbye!”

He recounted that he parked the cars of everyone from movie stars to gangsters, and even said he would make more money in tips than most people made in a week’s salary.

It was in his teenage years that Joe bought his first Ford, a 1932 roadster hot rod. He started racing in the legendary Daytona Beach races when he was around 17, and in one race placed eighth. He would say he raced ”mostly against bootleggers” in his 1937 and 1939 Ford Coupe Incidentally, the same monsignor who mentored Joe found out about the race only after reading in the papers. Joe said he got a pretty stern reprimand over that. It’s something he would always have a chuckle over when retelling the story.

After high school, Joe attended the University of Miami as a Pre-Law student, but early on in his college career, decided he wanted to join the Army instead. He laughingly once said, “I joined the army because I wanted to see the world, and all I saw was Ft. Campbell!”

Joe’s enlistment at Ft. Campbell, KY. however, was a very exciting time for him. He joined the military police and worked as an investigator. He shared many stories of the undercover work he did and was most proud of helping to expose drug theft and illegal sales taking place within a food warehouse operation.

While on one of these undercover operations, he met his future wife Jewelene “Jean.” She was a first lieutenant of the Women’s Army Corps and outranked Joe who was a private. Joe loved telling the story of seeing Jean at an army hospital where he was doing an investigation, and in order to gain her attention - knowing she sang in the Baptist choir on the base - snuck in to ask her out on a date. They dated for two months, married in May of 1954, and were both discharged in October of the same year. Interestingly, the priest who performed their wedding, Father Edward Cronin, was the army base chaplain whom Joe had worked with on some of his undercover police work. They all became lifelong friends. Though Joe entered the army as a private, upon discharge, he was promoted to corporal – but always said “Jean outranks me no matter what!”

Upon leaving the army, Joe and Jean moved to Athens, Ga. where he enrolled at the University of Georgia. After graduating in 1957 with a Master’s Degree in Finance, he and Jean and their first child, Joe Jr. moved to Atlanta. While in Athens, Joe said to make extra money he rebuilt engines for bootleggers. With a sly smile he would say, “It was never discussed, but it was always kind of known.”

His first job was with the First National Bank of Atlanta, and he eventually became a stockbroker. In 1965, he opened his own auto repair and parts shop on Briarcliff Road in Dekalb County. Joe soon became a leading authority on the building and repairing of all things cars, specializing in 1932-1953 Fords, and continued to share his expertise well past his retirement in 1995.

In the late 60s and early 70s Joe sponsored modified stock cars for NASCAR, and he was also a promoter at the Lakewood Speedway. His daughters remember many weekend nights at the racetrack, watching him from the stands as he worked with the racers. He became very well known in the race car community and was considered an expert engine builder. Lifelong friend, former drag car racer and NASCAR builder Jimmy Summerour famously moved his operation over to Joe Smith's Automotive in 1966.

Not only was Joe well known in the race car community, he would offer his shop to NASA astronauts if they needed a place to work on their own race cars while they were racing in or near Atlanta. When Gus Grissom, one of the astronauts on Apollo 1, came to the shop to work on his race car, Joe called Jean to gather all the kids in the neighborhood to come meet him.

He had a colorful circle of friends, customers and work associates, and you never knew who was going to be in his shop - even Elton John stopped by once. He said to us, “I don’t know who he is, but you girls might.”

Joe lived his whole life doing what he loved: working with cars. He always had a joke or a funny story to tell. He was always the first person anyone would call with a question about a car or in need of help finding a part. He was generous with his time and knowledge, and he will be sorely missed by everyone in the antique car community.

Joe is preceded in death by his wife Jewelene Traylor Smith, and his son Joseph Gabriel Smith, Jr. He is survived by his daughters Karen Smith of Sherman Oaks, Ca.; Linda Smith Geiss of Birmingham, Al.; Laura Smith Abbott of Atlanta, Ga. (husband Justin Abbott); granddaughters Lyndsey Smith Burns (husband Tyler Burns), Sloan Geiss; grandson Charles Geiss (wife Jamielynn); niece Kathy Traylor-Presley; nephews Steve Traylor (wife Lisa Traylor) and Jimmy Traylor (wife Kim Traylor).

Visitation will be held at Dignity Floral Hills in Tucker, Ga. on November 10, 2026 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM (3150 Lawrenceville Highway, Tucker, GA 30084). A funeral mass will be held at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, November 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM (2855 Briarcliff Rd., Atlanta, GA 30329), with graveside services immediately following at Dignity Floral Hills in Tucker.

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Josie Butler and Staci Ollar for taking such wonderful and loving care of Joe the last few years, and to everyone at Holbrook Assisted Living, who also took excellent care of him during his time there. Condolences may be left in Joe’s online guestbook at on the Dignity Memorial website.