Funeral services for Doyle Ray Smith will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 26, 2023, in the Silver Creek Baptist Church of Leesville with Bro. Terry McDonald officiating. Burial will follow in the Silver Creek Cemetery in Leesville.
Visitation will be Thursday, October 26, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. in the church.
Doyle Ray Smith, 80 years old, of Hemphill, Texas, passed away on October 21, 2023, in his home surrounded by his family after a long hard fight with cancer.
In 1970 Doyle met Joe Ann Freeman and they were married on January 24, 1971. They have two children, Tonya Scott and Mike Smith.
Doyle was preceded in death by his mother and father, Verda and Ray Smith, and his grandparents, Dora and Harold Marshall.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Joe Ann Smith; daughter Tonya Scott; son Mike Smith and wife Jamie; grandchildren, Chris Scott and wife Yvette; Jordan Burk, and Haley Smith; great granddaughter Elizabeth (Ellie) Scott; his sisters, Ruth Gill, and Janet Koch and husband Steve Koch; Aunt Lorene Brady; a special niece Pat Corley; numerous other nieces and nephews; and many cousins.
Doyle was born on July 3, 1943, to Verda and Ray Smith in Leesville, Louisiana. After Doyle graduated from Leesville High School in 1961, he attended one year at Louisiana Tech. Doyle then joined the United States Air Force where he served in Japan. Doyle played football in high school and also played for the Tachikawa Air Base in Japan from 1963-1965. He was also very active in Judo competitions in Japan and continued after he returned to the States for a few years. Doyle returned to Houston, Texas, after his duty was over and went to work for Delta Airlines, retiring in 1995.
Doyle enjoyed many activities during his life, such as playing dominoes and 42, camping family vacations, fishing, hunting, and photography. He also donated his time as Athletics Director for Little League Football for many years. Doyle had a love for growing flowers and researching his family’s genealogy. During his research, he amassed a ton of information on our families, and he did it the hard way by going to libraries, visiting cemeteries, and going through many courthouse records. In his own words, “I enjoy genealogy and hope I can pay some tribute to those that have gone on before and maybe leave something for those that follow.” In his later years he loved Fantasy Football. He played in the same league with Mike and friends for seventeen years. He really enjoyed the in-person draft, but Covid stopped those for a few years, and he really missed getting together with the other players. In August, this year, he was able to go to Houston for the in-person draft, even though he was in a lot of pain. We know he enjoyed that one last time.
