Obit of Smith Jr., Riley Seymour - Comanche County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 13 Nov 2005 Return to Comanche County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/comanche/comanche.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== Lawton Constitution 4 Mar 2003 Riley Seymour Smith Jr. NEWBERRY, Fla. - Funeral for former Lawton resident Riley Seymour Smith Jr., 94, Newberry, Fla., will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Williams Thomas Funeral Home Chapel, Gainesville, Fla. A wake service will be from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Dr. Smith died Saturday, March 1, 2003. Burial will be at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fla. He was born May 3, 1908, in Lawton. He and his family lived in Lawton until 1916 when they moved to Tulsa. He grew up in Tulsa and graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1930 with a degree in geology. He worked for the Texas Company, now Texaco, as chief of a seismic crew looking for oil. He married Dorothy Fawcett in 1941. He joined the Navy, and served during World War II as a commissioned officer in the Pacific Campaign, mostly in the Philippine and Okinawa invasions. After Japan surrendered, he participated in the occupation of Hiroshima. He was discharged from the Navy in 1945, and returned to work for Texaco. He earned a master's degree from the University of Tulsa in 1952, and a doctorate from the University of Arizona in 1956. After that he conducted searches for uranium in the Southwest. Later he taught earth science at several colleges. Survivors include a brother, Burdette Smith, Fort Worth, Texas; three daughters: Susan Chaffee, Port St. Lucie, Fla.; Marilyn Blanchard, Jupiter, Fla.; and Kathleen O'Donnell, Tulsa; six sons and their wives: Randolph Smith, Tallahassee, Fla.; Barry Smith, Lantana, Fla.; Rodney Smith, Roseville, Calif.; Forrest Smith, Port St. Lucie; Lee Smith, Midland, Va.; and Gregory Smith, Newberry; many grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Diana Smith; and his parents, Riley and Eva Smith. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Comanche County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/comanche/comanche.html