Howard Perkins Smith

Howard Perkins Smith was born August 23, 1912 in Springtown, TX. He died August 16, 2015 in Abilene, TX, at the age of 102 years and 51 weeks.

The family will welcome friends at a visitation Tuesday, August 18, from 5-7 pm at Piersall Funeral Directors, 733 Butternut. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, August 19, at 3 pm, at Texas State Veterans Cemetery, 7457 West Lake Road.

Howard was the middle son of Joe and Lela Perkins Smith. He was reared in Springtown and thoroughly enjoyed being a country boy – fishing in creeks and hunting in the woods nearby. He attended school in Springtown, went on to graduate with an Associate of Arts degree from Weatherford College in 1931. He received his BBA degree from University of Texas in 1933.

In December 1933 he began his long banking career at the Morris Plan Bank in Fort Worth, living with an aunt and uncle on the north side. While attending the North Side Church of Christ, he met and began courting Lanita Lawrence, also a graduate of UT. They married July 20, 1940 in the backyard garden of her mother’s home on Market St. Together they enjoyed more than 66 happy years of marriage. Throughout their lives, they attended North Side, South Side, Arlington Heights and Las Vegas Trail Churches of Christ in Fort Worth, Granbury Church of Christ, and Hillcrest Church of Christ in Abilene, and he faithfully served as deacon and elder as well as treasurer for many of these congregations.

He continued to advance in his banking career at Morris Plan Bank, Trinity State Bank and Bank of Commerce. With World War II looming on the horizon and before receiving an induction notice, he enlisted in the U. S. Army in May of 1942, where he rose to the rank of Master Sergeant with the 34th Finance Disbursing Section. During his time in the Army he served in Oran, North Africa, and Naples and Rome, Italy. While in Rome, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for service in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. After his discharge in May 1945, he returned to the Bank of Commerce in Fort Worth until February 1950 when he joined the West Side State Bank. He remained with West Side, through several name changes including Bank of Fort Worth and Texas American Bank-West Side, until he retired in December 1975.

Throughout his life, he loved going to Colorado to perfect his fly-fishing skill in many mountain streams and rivers. The family enjoyed long vacations every summer and time together exploring various destinations around the country. Amazingly, on almost every vacation, he ran into someone he knew from Springtown! Must have been a big city once upon a time!

After retiring from banking, Howard and Lanita moved to Granbury, TX, in 1976. During their Granbury years, they were blessed with four grandchildren and many friends. He enjoyed gardening, golfing and traveling with friends. They moved to Abilene in 2003 where they made many new friends.

Howard was preceded in death by the love of his life Lanita in 2006, his parents and two brothers, Joseph Weldon and Henry Wayne.

He is survived by daughter Sharon Lindsey and her husband Gary of Edmond OK, daughter Lana Trietsch and her husband Jim; grandchildren Jenni Trietsch, Blake Lindsey and his wife Lianne of Arlington TX, Heather Ratliff and her husband Phillip, and Lauren Blasingame and her husband Robert; and great-grandchildren Andrew and Amy Lindsey, Emily and Anna Ratliff, Lindsey and Reagan Blasingame.

The family wishes to thank those who helped Howard live as independently as possible at University Place and Chisholm Place and the kind caregivers of Hendrick Hospice.

Those wishing to honor Howard’s life may do so by their faithfulness to the Lord, their service to the nation he loved and their devotion to their families which he personified.