Bruce Smith IV

1945 - 2014

TUPELO – Robert Bruce Smith IV, 69, met an untimely death in a motor vehicle accident on Wednesday, August 13, 2014. Bruce was born on Flag Day, June 14, 1945, at the old Tupelo Hospital. He spent his childhood in Ripley, the son of Attorney Robert Bruce Smith III, and Roberta Fagin Smith. Bruce moved to Tupelo in the 10th grade to live with his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Margaret Fagin, on Madison Street, and graduated in 1963 from Tupelo High School. He spent a year at Ole Miss, then joined the Air Force. Bruce served his country in Air Force Intelligence in Turkey and the Azores Islands for four years.
After the service, Bruce returned to Ole Miss and graduated in 1971 with a degree in music. He spent the next 19 years of his life working for the community concert branch of Columbia Artists, traveling around the country booking such groups and celebrities as The Bolshoi Ballet, Beverly Sills, Leontyne Price and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Bruce was an accomplished pianist and possessed a profound and broad knowledge of classical music. He wrote numerous reviews of Tupelo Symphony Orchestra concerts for The Daily Journal. For a number of years, Bruce was the master of ceremonies for the City of Tupelo's annual July 4th celebration. Bruce was appointed to the State Board for Historic Preservation and was an acknowledged historian and lecturer. He was instrumental in having the Madison Street - Highland Circle area of Tupelo recognized as an historical district.
Bruce lead annual tours of William Faulkner sites in both Ripley and New Albany for the University of Mississippi Faulkner - Yoknapatawpha Conference in Oxford. Bruce spoke frequently at Emmitt Till annual conferences in Sumner. Bruce's father had been the prosecutor in this famous trial.
Bruce was one of the most well-read persons in the community and was invited to Rosemont, Jefferson Davis' ancestral home in Woodville, where he would answer questions and lecture members of the Jefferson Davis family who would gather there every other year for family reunions. He also assisted in teaching historical writing classes at the Tupelo Ole Miss campus and was a published author and poet.
Bruce's main talent, however, lay in helping other people, worthy causes, his family, and in entertaining and educating children.
Bruce was preceded in death by his father, Robert Bruce Smith III; his mother, Roberta Fagin Smith Burress; and his stepfather, John Burress. He is survived by two brothers, Jak McGee Smith (Sharon) of Baldwyn and Palmer Fred Smith (Wendy) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; three Burress stepsisters, Sarah, Martha and Susan; three nieces and nephews, Sarah Stonestreet of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Robert Bruce Smith V of Oxford and Jocelyn Smith of New York, New York; eight great-nieces and great-nephews, Abigail, Anna, Ali Stonestreet, Jon Thomas, Eli, Clayton McCoy, Haley Brooke and Bennett Geno; and a legion of wonderful friends and relatives who will all miss Bruce's infectious laughter and playfulness.
Pallbearers will be Robert B. Smith V, Jonathan McCoy, Manny Geno, Freddie B. Fortier, Reed Hillen and Wilson Long.
Services will be at the McGee Plantation at 11a.m. on today, August 16, 2014, with all friends and family invited. McGee Plantation is located at 68 CR 7461, Baldwyn, MS. (662) 871-2006. In lieu of flowers, you may make donations to the Tupelo Symphony or St. Jude's Hospital.
Expressions of sympathy may be left at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.