Richard Eugene Smith, 56, of Blairsville, PA (Blacklick Twp.) passed away on Saturday, February 4, 2006 at his home.The son of Elder Clair and Eva Luella Shields Smith, he was born September 26, 1949 in Indiana, PA.Mr. Smith was a member of the Hopewell United Methodist Church where he was a member of the Board of Trustees and had previously served as treasurer of the Hopewell Cemetery Association.In 1963, he was the Indiana County Soap Box Derby champion and competed in the All-American Soap Box Derby Championship in Akron, OH. He was an avid outdoorsman and hunter.Mr. Smith graduated from Blairsville High School in 1967 and from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.He attended Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, GA in 1971 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army in 1972. He received an honorable discharge in 1974, and re-enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves in 1975 where he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1992.Mr. Smith worked at IUP for 25 years, where he began as a purchasing agent in 1974 and retired as Physical Plant Director in November 1999.Surviving are his wife, Pamela Lynn Fulmer Smith, whom he married June 11, 1977; two sons, Michael F. Smith of Harrisburg, and Brian J. Smith at home; his father, Elder Clair Smith of Blairsville; two brothers, John Elder Smith and wife, Ruth; Donald Clair Smith and wife, Karen and a sister, Shirley Jean Rook, all of Blairsville, as well as several nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his mother on May 1, 2001.The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. Tuesday at the Shoemaker Funeral Home, Inc., 49 N. Walnut St., Blairsville. Funeral services will be held at 11 A.M. Wednesday at the Hopewell United Methodist Church, Blairsville, with Rev. Jason L. McQueen officiating.Interment in the Blairsville Cemetery will be private.Military services will be accorded by the Blairsville VFW Post #5821 and the American Legion.The family asks memorial contributions be made to the ALS Association, Landmarks Building, Suite 550, 100 West Station Square Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1122 or the Hopewell United Methodist Church, PO Box 435, Black Lick, PA 15716-0435.
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