Larry D. Smart was born April 19, 1938 in Haskell AR to D.E."Dub" and Alma Smart. He moved to Bauxite at age 14 and became a Bauxite Miner. He treasured his life in Bauxite and continued to support and serve the school and museum. He was inducted into the Bauxite Hall of Fame in 2009. He graduated in 1956 then attended U of A Fayetteville to play football. He then entered the US Air Force and served for five years. It was the Air Force that led him to be stationed at Shepherd Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX. There he met the love of his life, Shirley Ann Brakebill Smart. He always said he "rescued" her from Texas.
After he served a year in Thule, Greenland, they married on August 11, 1962 and moved to California for a year before making their permanent home in Saline County. They were married for 46 years. He retired three times! 1st From Reynolds Metals Co after 24 years, 2nd, after many years of owning Smart Service Company, 3rd, after co-owning Hood's Portable Buildings. He loved traveling all over the state and meeting a lot of people. Larry served 36 years on the Bryant City Council. He was a long time coach for city baseball and was a member of the Bryant Hornet Booster and the Bauxite Old Timers. He was a member of Indian Springs Baptist Church for many years where he "served in every position except preacher, music director and pianist!" He is now a member of 1st Baptist Church of Bryant. In his spare time he taught his kids how to hunt, fish, camp out at Lake Ouachita, and to play baseball, softball, and basketball. Larry was saved at age 9 at Mt. Harmony Church and Baptized in an old mine pit at Mt. Olive.
On September 7. 2017, he walked on two good legs through the Gates of Heaven. He was greeted by his wife, his parents, his brother, Jackie Smart; brother-in-law, Leonard Burrow and his baby grandson, Cody Brice, who he will finally get to take fishing.
He leaves behind his children, David and Caryn Smart of Bryant, and Tony and Cathy Fletcher of Lonoke.
Brother and family, Rick and Marlena Smart, Justin, Jennifer and Emory Reynolds, Jesse Amber Kayleigh and Kent Crumby; Sister and family, Pat, Jeff and Kealey Burrow, Eric, Kris and Quaid Hamilton, Brannon, Braelyn and Ashlyn Kuhn; Sister-in-law Earnestine Smart; special cousin and family, Delores, Scot and Rachel Sexton and too many cousins to count and adopted family.
Larry's wishes were to be cremated and he felt a funeral was unnecessary. There will be a visitation and celebration of life at 1st Baptist Church of Bryant, 8800 Hwy 5 N, Alexander on Tuesday September 12, 2017 from 5-8PM.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to 1st Baptist Church Building Fund or to the Bauxite Museum.
Larry dearly loved his Lord, his family, his church, his community, the Texas Rangers and all of his grand-dogs!