Mr. Thomas Smoot

Visitation Monday May 12, 2025 from 4-7pm at Estep Brothers Funeral Service 1300 Eutaw Place Baltimore Maryland 21217 Family will receive friends Tuesday May 13, 2025 from 10-10:30am with service to follow at Calvary Baptist Church 3911 Garrison Blvd. Baltimore Maryland 21215. Interment Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery 11501 Garrison Forest Rd. Owings Mills, Maryland 21117. OBITUARY Thomas Stephen Smoot, affectionately known as "Smoot" - and Pop Pop to his grandchildren - was born on March 31, 1932, to the late Julia Ann (Lyles) and Robert George Smoot in the Bel Alton community of Charles County, Maryland. He departed this life on April 23, 2025, at age 93, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The second of 10 children born into a family of sharecroppers during the Great Depression, Smoot spent his earliest years on multiple farms throughout Charles County and Anne Arundel County. During his formative years, he attended a one-room schoolhouse in Anne Arundel, later attending Bates High School in Annapolis and Carver Vocational-Technical High School in Baltimore. He was sent to the city to help an ailing uncle. A country boy at heart, however, he couldn't wait to return to the open spaces and slower pace of life that he knew at home. A proud U.S. Army veteran, Smoot served in a transportation company battalion during the Korean War. In recent years, he told several grandchildren of nearly freezing to death when his truck broke down in the frigid winter weather as he ferried critical supplies to the war's front line. Pressed to meet its deadline, his unit continued to its destination, leaving Smoot behind to protect his vehicle from falling into enemy hands. He positioned himself on the snow-packed ground beneath his disabled truck, staying overnight for at least three days in sub-zero temperatures as he awaited his unit's return. After being discharged from the Army with multiple commendations, he married the lovely Doris Anne Robinson on January 6, 1955, at Calvary Baptist Church, Pastor Aaron Townsend officiating. Their membership in Calvary predated the church's move to its original Biddle Street home and later relocation to Garrison Boulevard. Together, Smoot and Doris created a church-centered, family-focused six-decade marriage. Smoot was baptized at Calvary in 1956 by the Rev. Lorenzo Graves, who appointed him a member of the Joint Board in 1957. Smoot's service to Calvary encompassed being an Usher, Finance Recorder, Trustee, and Deacon. As the Building and Maintenance Coordinator, he led numerous church renovation projects. Additionally, Smoot was a founding member of the Garrison Restorative Action Community and Empowerment (GRACE) Board, a nonprofit neighborhood reinvestment program. Throughout his life, Smoot exhibited an aptitude for problem-solving and technical ability; he could fix anything from small appliances to cars. He put those skills to work when he and Doris designed and built the family's home in Glen Burnie. Smoot attended night school to fine-tune his skills, becoming among the first few African Americans employed as an electronics technician at Westinghouse Defense Electronics Company (later Northrop Grumman). At home, he took pleasure in packing the family RV and taking his wife and children on cross-country vacations, photography, communicating with old and new friends via citizens band (CB) radio, and playing the organ and harmonica. A respected leader, hard worker, and steadfast friend and advisor to many, Smoot leaves to cherish his memory his four sons, Stephen, Sterling (Lucy), Stanley (Darylle), and Scott; one daughter, Stacey; a niece he helped raise, Angie; 12 grandchildren; four great-grands; one sister, Shirley Anne Johnson; three brothers, Nathaniel (Audrey), Anthony (Geraldine), and Victor; a godson, Pastor Darron Johnson; many beloved nieces and nephews; and a host of treasured relatives and friends. Smoot's legacy lives on in the hearts of all who knew him.