Preston Carter “Smiley” Smith, Jr., 85, of Portsmouth, died Monday, September 14, 2020, at the SOMC Hospice Center. He was born February 6, 1935, in Portsmouth, a son of the late Preston C. and Ruth Ford Smith.
Preston retired from the former Norfolk & Western Railway Co. where he was a brake inspector and he served in the Army as a paratrooper. A standout football player, he graduated in 1953 from Portsmouth High School.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Loretta; two sons, Preston C. “Spanky” Smith and Dwayne Smith; and a grandson, Brandon Beckwith.
Surviving are his daughter, Ronda Gay Beckwith of Dayton; four grandchildren, Jason Smith, Dwayne Smith, Jr., Danada Beckwith and Deidre; seven great-grandchildren; close friend and mother of Ronda, Thelma L. Turner of Dayton; and two special caregivers, Tony Watt and Janice Parker, both of Portsmouth.
Arrangements are pending.
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