Joseph F. Smith

Jan. 25, 1927, Saturday, May 27, 2023

Joseph F. Smith passed away Saturday evening at Wellbrooke of Crawfordsville at the age of 96.

Joe was a member of Youngs Chapel Christian Church where he served as an elder for 50 years and spent many years as a Sunday School teacher.  He had disabilities but managed to overcome them and farm all his life in Madison Township.  He served on the board of Montgomery County Farm Bureau, was a member of the Masonic Lodge and on the board for the Montgomery County Co-Op.

Joe and Clara liked to travel and had visited all 50 states.  He kept a diary for many years.  He enjoyed reading, gardening, telling jokes and fixing things with duct tape.  Most of all, he loved his family and his grandchildren, whom he loved to take for rides.

Born Jan. 25, 1927 in Wingate, he was the son of Bernard B. Smith and Pearl Smith.  He graduated from Linden High School in 1945 as the valedictorian and attended the Purdue Ag short course.  He married Clara Cox Smith on Nov. 20, 1949 at Youngs Chapel and she passed away Sept. 27, 2010.

Surviving family includes: son, David Smith of Crawfordsville; daughter Marcia (Barry) Rhoads of Brownsburg; son, Mark (Susan) Smith of rural Crawfordsville; son, Dale (Ruth) Smith of Bowling Green, Ohio; daughter, Donna (Dave) Church of Fishers; thirteen grandchildren, Serena (Duncan) Sherriff, Jathan (Fauna) Rhoads, Hannah (Barrett) Hartley, Aaron (Shanele) Rhoads, Kyle (Anika) Smith, Kelly Smith, Eric Church, Megan (Adam) Linsenbigler, Caleb (Kristin) Church, Padraic (Holly) Smith, Isaac (Mackenzie) Smith, Micah (Abbey) Smith, Eli Smith; twenty-two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, three brothers, Louis, Arthur, and Morris Smith along with three sisters, Geraldine Cox, Hazel Foxworthy, and Judy Jones.

Visitation will be from 11 AM to 1 PM Friday, June 2nd at Burkhart Funeral Home.  Services will begin at 1 PM, led by members of his family.  After the service, he will be laid to rest at Oak Hill Cemetery North.

Donations in memory may be made to the Joe and Clara Smith Scholarship Fund through the Montgomery County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 334, Crawfordsville, IN 47933 or the Youngs Chapel Christian Church, 4527 North 200 East Crawfordsville.