James (“Jim” or “Jimmy”) Markham Smith was born December 29, 1936, and passed into the loving arms of Jesus Christ on December 12, 2016, after a lengthy but valiant fight with pulmonary fibrosis.
Memorial service: 10:00 AM, Saturday, December 17, 2016, First United Methodist Church, Glen Rose, Texas.
Jim was born in Keota, Oklahoma, and lived in various small towns in Oklahoma as both of his parents were school teachers and moved often. After graduating High School in Shamrock, Texas, in 1955, Jim attended one year of college at Sayre Junior College, Sayre, Oklahoma. Jim’s peace office career began in Dumas, Texas, as a city police office for six years. That job led him into the Texas State Troopers. Here he served the public in Austin, Fort Worth and Dallas. Jim patrolled the Dallas/Fort Worth Turnpike for several years before transferring to the Dallas North Tollway where he completed his 20 years of service and retired in 1987. After retiring from the Highway Patrol, he began working as personal security for Harold Simmons of Dallas and worked for the Simmons’ for the next 18 years.
Jim met Shirley Childers in January 1985 at Sunday School and after going on a Singles Department ski trip, decided this was the woman he was going to marry. They were married on September 28 of that same year.
Jim’s hobbies included golf, reading western novels, travel, woodworking and motorcycles. Jim is preceded in death by his parents, John Smith and Kathleen Chastain Smith and brothers, Bill and Jerry Smith.
Jim is survived by his wife, Shirley, of Glen Rose, daughter, Carre Lynn Hanner and husband, Glenn, of Colleyville, sister, Genave Allein and husband Bill, of Amarillo and many loving nieces and nephews.
Jim will be greatly missed by all those that knew him.
