SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 284
In Memory
of
James Kenneth Smith
WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of James
Kenneth Smith of Tyler, who passed away on January 23, 2019, at
the age of 81; and
WHEREAS, Ken Smith was born on September 26, 1937, in the
community of Telephone to James Warner and Undene Mozelle Widner
Smith; while attending Bonham High School, he earned the rank of
Eagle Scout and began working as a disc jockey, a job that
eventually helped him pay his way through college in Austin,
Denton, and Dallas; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Smith graduated from the University of North
Texas in 1960 and made his living as a disc jockey in Sherman and
Tyler, before taking a job with Peoples National Bank; in 1963,
he embarked on a career that would span 34 years with the
pharmaceutical company Smith Kline & French; while there, he
became a certified medical representative and rose to the
position of executive pharmaceutical consultant before retiring
in 1997; he was a longtime member of First Christian Church in
Tyler, and he served the congregation through the years as
evangelism chair, elder, elder chair, and elder emeritus; and
WHEREAS, In 1959, Mr. Smith married his college sweetheart,
the former Reba Fay Roland, with whom he shared nearly six decades;
they were blessed with two children, Angela and Timothy, and the
couple later welcomed into their family four grandchildren, Blake,
Trent, Clayton, and Lindsey; Mr. Smith supported both his children
and grandchildren in their many athletic, dance, band, and other
extracurricular activities; an avid outdoorsman, he also delighted
in going on fishing and hunting trips with his loved ones; and
WHEREAS, Ken Smith led a life that was rich in the
intangibles that matter most, and he will forever be remembered
with deep admiration and affection; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the life of James Kenneth
Smith and extend sincere sympathy to all those who mourn his
passing; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Senate adjourns this
day, it do so in memory of Ken Smith.
Hughes
________________________________
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on February 27, 2019,
by a rising vote.
________________________________
Secretary of the Senate
________________________________
Member, Texas Senate