Earl Stephens Smith

Earl Stephens (Steve) Smith, of Stone Mountain, GA passed away peacefully on February 2, 2026, at age 80.

Steve was born in Goldsboro, NC in 1946 to Earl and Retta Smith. An Army brat, Steve grew up in cities around the globe before finally settling in Columbus, GA as a teenager. It was there in Columbus where he met his future wife, Peggy Holloway. After studying at Georgia Tech, Steve finished his college career with a degree in accounting from Auburn University. After graduating from Auburn, Steve had accounting positions at several large corporations before deciding that accounting was not his calling in life. Moving on from accounting Steve started a custom woodworking shop that specialized in high end cabinets. Closing that shop down in the late 80’s, Steve continued his career in home remodeling and renovations.

Steve was a lover of all things outdoors and a lot of his best memories were at a beach house built by his father and grandfather in Oak Island, NC.

Many great memories were made at that small cottage in North Carolina.

Driving the long way on road trips and documenting the journey was something that he really enjoyed doing.

Priding himself as an amateur photographer, Steve documented life the long way too, having all the family photographs developed into slides. Showing these slides on a projector in the living room was one of his favorite past-times while eating popcorn and drinking chocolate milkshakes. On his 80th birthday on January 21, 2026, Steve was able to enjoy one more slideshow surrounded by almost his entire family.

One of his favorites hobbies was reloading bullets and he would spend hours upon hours perfecting his craft until every component was 100% perfect. Perfection in everything that he made was something he prided himself in and most everyone he encountered would tell you the same thing.

Preceded in death by his (father)Earl Smith, (mother)Retta Smith and (brother)Larry Smith. Survived by his wife of 56 years, Peggy Smith, his children, Alisa Eller(Scott) of Covington, GA, Julie Smith(Chris) of St. Augustine, FL, Stephanie Duggan(Lee) of Snellville, GA and Roger Smith(Theresa) of Covington, GA. 12 Grandchildren, Jessica Small(Blake), Ryan Eller(Samantha), Kaitlyn Smith, River Pittman, Madilyn Smith, Danielle Eller(Chase Crowe), Reagan Smith, Ethan Smith, Logan Smith, Evelyn Smith, Patrick Smith and Sophie Duggan. 3 Great-Grandchildren, Nicholas Crowe, Lylah Eller, and Charlotte Small.