James Larry “Junior” Smith passed away of natural causes in his home in Trion, Georgia, on January 13, 2019.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Elsie Smith of Trion, Ga. Howard had been a supervisor for Riegel Textile Mills and Elsie had been a nurse for the Trion hospital.
Larry was survived by his two sons, Christopher Scott Smith of Gainesville, Ga., and Jamison Corey Smith of Lookout Mountain, Ga. Also surviving him is his sister, Patricia G. Pazol, R.N. of Gainesville, Ga.; seven grandchildren: Alexandria LeAnn Smith, 23, of Fort Oglethorpe, Jackson Corey Smith, 6, of Lookout Mountain, Ga., Matthew Ryan Smith, 25, of Gainesville, Ga., Bailey Caroline Smith, 23, of Gainesville, Ga., Jacob Aaron Smith, 20, of Gainesville, Ga., Lawson Belle Smith, 13, of Gainesville, Ga., and Nolee Sha Smith, 9, of Gainesville, Ga.. Also surviving are two nephews, Joshua Lynn Pazol of Gainesville, Ga., and Anthony Kip Pazol of Gainesville, Ga.. Survivors also include two great nieces, AnnaLee Marie Pazol, 17, of Gainesville, Ga. And Averie Taylor Pazol, 14, of Gainesville, Ga. and two great nephews: Austin Joshua Pazol, 28, of Gainesville, Ga., and Andrew Daulton Pazol, 25, of Gainesville, Ga.
Larry was a Christian and followed the Southern Baptist faith, although he was not a member of a church when he died. He had recently returned to his home town of Trion, Georgia, where he had grown up and played football for the Trion Bulldogs when he was in high school. Larry also attended Northwest Georgia Military Academy and Northwest Georgia College. Larry was retired, but he had been a businessman who had owned a number of businesses over the years including Volunteer Auto Mats of Chattanooga, Tn., and Smith Automotive Industries (SAI) of Dalton and Cohutta, Georgia.
He will be sadly missed by his family, his friends, and all those who knew him. No one loved to laugh and talk more than Larry. He will always be remembered as the cheerful, dynamic person that he had always been.
Memorial services to be announced later by Earle Rainwater Funeral Home.