Robert C. "Bob" Smith, 93, of Alapaha, Georgia, died Monday, March 25, 2024, at his residence.
Graveside services will be held 11 AM, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Spring Hill Cemetery, in Irwin County, Georgia, with the Chaplain Landon Alberson officiating.
Robert Charles Smith (Bob) was born on May 12, 1930, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. After his father’s untimely death, he and his mother moved to Columbia, South Carolina. He graduated from high school in Marion, SC. and enlisted with the help of his mother into the Army Air Corp at the age of seventeen. In 1947, shortly after he joined, the Army Air Corp became the United States Air Force. He attended basic training in Fort Jackson, upon completion he went to Denver, Colorado for Administrative School. While working in administration, he received his first assignment in Hawaii. He was then sent to Korea as a part of the Medical Air Evacuation Squadron. He returned to Hawaii and received training in Electronics and moved to Biloxi, MS. From Biloxi, he served in a weather station in Niagara Falls. He was a member of the Sixth Air Mobility Wing in Tampa. His next stop was London England for maneuver training. While in London he attended the festivities on June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II coronation. As a part of Administration, he was stationed and stayed at Enewetak in the Marshall Islands for a year working on atomic bombs. He then served in Vietnam. He was stationed on the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, where he said, “we had radars looking at the Russians and the Russians had radars looking at them.” He was sent to North Dakota for 1 year as a part of the Radar Site Air Command. After twenty years, he retired from the Air Force career in Jacksonville, Florida at the Naval Air Station with highest rank of Master Sargeant. It was in Jacksonville, Fl., where he met the love of this life, Mary Alice Harper. They dated for two weeks and got married and remained married for 39 years until her passing. After retirement from the Air Force and marrying Mary Alice he took a job in Houston, Texas with Lockheed Electronics Company working on the Apollo 11 Mission receiving a “Man on the Moon” pin in recognition of his contribution to the success of the mission. After the Apollo project was discontinued, he transferred to Atlanta and worked with Lockheed on various experiments with micro circuits. It was at this point that Mary Alice wanted to return home to Alapaha. There was not a need for an expert in electronic in South Georgia at the time, so Bob made a career change and when to work for the University of Georgia at the Experiment Station in Tifton. He worked in pecans and agronomy for twenty years and retired. In his last years he enjoyed watching his grandsons, Sam and Nathan play football, wrestling, and baseball. He often said, “I have lived a full life”.
He is survived by his daughter, D’ Anna Tucker & R.B., Jr.; grandchildren: Sam Tucker & Allana and Nathan Tucker & Morgan Bryant; and a great grandchild, Ellyruth Tucker. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Mary Alice Harper Smith; her two sons Dewayne Luke and Donnie Luke; and a great granddaughter, Desi Anne Tucker.
Paulk Funeral Home Ocilla, is in charge of arrangements.