ST. MARY PARISH, LA. 

Obituary for: SMITH, JACK DONALD, SR.

Submitted by: Louis Lavedan. 

Source: Daily Review, The (Morgan City, LA)

Published Wednesday, July 20, 2011

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SMITH, JACK DONALD, SR.

Jack Donald Smith Sr. passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 16, 2011, in 
Baton Rouge at the age of 86. He was surrounded by his wife of 50 years, Betty, 
friends and family.

Mr. Jack, as he was fondly called by many, was a resident of the Tri-City area 
for over 25 years. He was a past member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber 
of Commerce and was a charter member of the Morgan City Petroleum Club.

A native of Pelham, Ga., Mr.

Jack was loved by all who knew him. He served in the U. S. Army during World War 
II, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was a P. O. W. He received the Bronze 
Star Medal for Meritorious Achievement, and numerous other ribbons and medals 
for his service.

After the war, Mr. Jack, while living in Jacksonville, Fla., became a commercial 
diver. He was a member of the ADCI Commercial Diving Hall of Fame, and was 
awarded the John B. Galletti Memorial Award in 1994. This Memorial Award is 
given annually by the Association of Diving Contractors to publicly recognize a 
professional in the industry who has provided substantial contributions toward 
making the commercial diving industry a better and safer environment in which to 
work. Mr. Jack was just such a person and the ADCI took great pride and a deep 
satisfaction in being able to honor him in this prestigious fashion.

Employed to supervise the first big-inch pipeline installed offshore, Mr. Jack 
developed the pipeline inspection techniques and procedures that are still being 
used today. This began a long string of "firsts" that he developed and pioneered 
during his 40 years in the diving business. These include being the first 
civilian diver certified by the U. S. Navy to "wet-weld," pioneering the use of 
"lock out" submarines and later the first ROVs in the Gulf, and managing the 
first underwater radiography equipment and pipeline repair procedures.

Mr. Jack started his first diving company in 1957 - S& H Subwater Salvage in 
Morgan City, which later became S& H Diving Corp.

From the start, if you were competing in the Gulf of Mexico diving industry you 
were competing with Jack Smith Sr. This fact alone raised the standard of safe, 
efficient operations and professionalism in the industry. When these were 
combined with Mr. Jack's integrity, Smith honesty, and extremely strong work 
ethic, Mr. Jack was unbeatable.

Mr. Jack was a leader and role model that demanded performance level and 
standards above anyone else. He was a "people engineer." By example, he created 
an atmosphere that inspired those working for him to excel. To those who were 
fortunate enough to have worked for Mr. Jack, he was the John Wayne of the 
diving business.

He broke down barriers between people to enhance teamwork.

He constantly sought out talent and then worked to enhance it by instilling 
confidence and self-respect. He always had the time to listen to anyone and give 
advice based on his set of business and people principles; he made a lot of 
people better through association.

Mr. Jack was preceded in death by his parents, James Gifford Smith of Pelham, 
Ga., Sallie Ollie Demott Smith of Moultrie, Ga., mother-in-law Ouida Finley of 
Baton Rouge and sonin-law Ross Waldrop of Morgan City.

He is survived by his wife, Coral Elizabeth "Betty" Edrington Smith; two sons, 
Jack D. Smith Jr. of Patterson and his wife Jerri Bergeron Smith, and David B. 
Smith of Baton Rouge; a stepson, Ron Poremba and his wife Annemarie of 
Jacksonville, Fla.; three daughters, Beverly Smith Waldrop of Denham Springs, 
Barbara Smith Boyd of Baton Rouge, and Alissa Smith Viscardis of Baton Rouge and 
her husband John Pat; eight grandchildren, Jessie Waldrop Matens and her husband 
Alan, Trey Waldrop, Chris Boyd, Jennifer Boyd, Jami Smith, Jacki Smith, Taylor 
Viscardis, and Jake Viscardis; and three great-grandchildren, Avery Matens, 
Lexie Matens and Cruz Fuentes.

Memorial services with a military honor guard salute will be held at Resthaven 
Gardens of Memory, 11817 Jefferson Hwy., Baton Rouge, on Thursday, July 21, 
2011, with visitation from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., a memorial service from 11 a.m. 
until noon, with interment to follow.

In lieu of flowers, Mr. Jack requested that donations be made to St. Jude 
Children's Hospital, www.stjude. org / donate.

The family wishes to thank the nurses and doctors of the MSCC Unit at Our Lady 
of the Lake Hospital for their compassion and dedication and a special thanks to 
Dr. John McClelland for his care and devotion over the years.

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