Eddie W. Smith

EDDIE W. SMITH, 83, OF DOUGLASSVILLE Eddie W. Smith, 83, husband of Minister Ila M. Pierce Smith of Douglassville, passed on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Born March 11, 1938 in Wrens, Georgia, he was the son of the late Paul Smith Sr. and Ollie Mae Haynes Smith. He attended school in Georgia and later attended Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. He also served in the U. S. Army. An area businessman for over 50 years, he owned the Eddie W. Smith Construction Company and the Eddie W. Smith Trailer Terrace. He also worked at Birdsboro Steele until retirement. Mr. Smith was a founding member of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Pottstown, where he sang on the senior choir, served as a former trustee and as a master of ceremony for many church functions. He was also a member of the Unity Workers for Christ and the Eddie Smith trio. He enjoyed gospel music, working his annual picnics, helping people but most of all he enjoyed his family and friends. He was a generous, humorous, trustworthy and truthful man who will be greatly missed. In addition to his wife, he is survived by five children, Edward W. Smith Jr. of Pottstown, Karen D. Archie (John P.) of Reading, Donald R. Smith and Kim M. Smith-Scott of York, and Annette L. Gray of Buford, GA; 26 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; two brothers, Albert Smith and Paul Smith Jr. of Birdsboro; one sister, Louise LaFaver of Evans, GA; stepbrothers, George Williams of Reading, and Ronald D. Williams of Sinking Spring; Anita N. Williams of Ft. Gordon, GA; five step-grandchildren; one step great-grandchild; three sisters-in-law, Edna Lewis of Reading, Jane Walker of Harrisburg and Lelia Pierce of Delaware; one brother-in-law, Devon Pierce of Reading, along with other relatives and friends. Services will be held on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 11 a.m., Mt. Olive Baptist Church, 240 Mintzer Street, Pottstown. A viewing will be held from 9-11 a.m. prior to the service. Internment will be in the Berks Memorial Gardens, Fleetwood. Uplifting Life Services are being arranged by the DeBaptiste Funeral Homes, Inc. of West Chester and Bryn Mawr. Visit www.DeBaptiste.com for information and to send condolences ~ 610-696-4812.