R.C. “Clifford” Smith, 91, of Franklin, Tennessee, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, November 15, 2020.
Clifford was born October 26, 1929, in Bridgeport, Al., to Robert Calvin Smith and Ethel Crabtree McCullough. He moved to Chattanooga, in 1935 after the death of his father and remarriage of his mother. Clifford graduated from Central High School in 1947 and was employed by Southern Railway in 1950. In 1951, he entered the Army during the Korean War and served in Germany with the 793 Military Police. Clifford returned to Southern Railway in 1953 and what is now known as the Norfolk-Southern Railway. He served on the board of directors and president of the Southern Credit Union for 12 years. Clifford was a member of the National Association of Veteran Railway Employees and was a member of Berry’s Chapel Church of Christ in Franklin, TN.
Clifford was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Wilma Taylor Smith; his brother, Major Sgt. Charles W. Smith; three stepbrothers, Eldridge “Bud” Carpenter, Carl Carpenter, and Gordon Carpenter; two stepsisters, Fredia Carpenter and Barbara Wehunt, as well as his mother and father.
Clifford is survived by his daughter, Daphne Smith; son Marty (Ann) Smith; brother, Bill Carpenter; sister, Sue Bibbey; stepsister, Betty Mitchell; grandsons, Sam (Liz West) and Zac Ellis (Faith); granddaughter, Abby Smith (Clay Baltimore); great-grandsons, Bennett Ellis, John Akers Ellis and Maverick Smith; great-granddaughter, Hampton Smith, as well as several special nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends from 1-3 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home in Franklin, and from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 23, at Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 S. Moore Road, East Ridge, Tn. 37412.
A service will follow at the pavilion at Chattanooga National Veterans Cemetery at 2 p.m. ET.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of a donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 1102 17th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37212 or to World Christian Broadcasting, 605 Bradley Ct., Franklin, TN 37067 in loving memory of R.C. Smith.
Arrangements are by Williamson Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 615 794-2289, www.williamsonmemorial.com.