Sunday's Obituary - Robert Calvin Smith - Mt . Vernon, Il

Bob Smith Age 35

Robert Calvin Smith 16 Sep 1888 - 31 Oct 1958

Last week I wrote briefly about my great-grandmother Verna Merritt Smith.  This week's obituary is about her husband, my great-grandfather Robert Calvin Smith.  Robert, or Bob as he was called, was born in Mt. Vernon, IL on 16 Sep 1888 to Milton A. and Mary F. (Scott) Smith.  Despite trying his hand early on at his father's occupation as a plumber, with the advent of automobiles Bob quickly found his niche.  Smith men have always been very mechanically inclined and working with engines seemed to be his calling.  He ran a garage in Mt. Vernon for many years with several of his sons.

Bob & Verna Smith 1950's

At some point in the late 1940's or early 1950's poor health forced him to retire from his garage.  He and Verna spent a couple of winter in Flagstaff, Arizona and then Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I like this picture of them - not sure where it's taken, but he looks very relaxed and enjoying his retirement.  On 31 Oct 1958 (my third birthday) he died in a Fort Lauderdale nursing home.  He was buried in Williams Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.