James H. Smith

1945 ~ 2022

Date of Death: January 21, 2022

In profound sadness, the staff of Veasley Funeral Home & Cremations, Inc. want to express our sincere condolences to the Smith family. James' earthly temple is now resting in the care of Veasley Funeral Home. Revelations 21:4 says "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death; nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away." Be assured that in the days ahead you will surely gain strength from the memories of Mr. James H. Smith.

Sincerely,

Derrick Veasley ~ Director

Henry Veasley ~ Director

Pastor E.C. Maltbia ~ Chaplain

James H. Smith was born November 16, 1945 in Menifee, Arkansas, to the late Merzetta and John Henry Smith. He attended Conway Country High School of Menifee. He was the 3rd oldest of 9 children. After graduating, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he met and married Camelia Dorset and to this union they had two children, Kennon and Ladonna Smith.

Soon after moving to California, he began working at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft where he maintained the employment of a tube bender from 1967-1974. In 1968 he was divorced and went on to raise his kids as a single father until meeting Merdanstine and remarrying in 1974, They soon had a son together by the name of James, Jr., combined with her four natural children. In 1977 he transferred jobs and began working at Northrop Aircraft Company. There he became a Master Mechanic and a tube bender until 1989. He would then go on and work for Boeing Aircraft in Huntington Beach. He was a level 1 Supervisor in the production of the F-20 and the tubes on the C-17 Air Lifter. He was the first black man to train others on the TQMS and the tube Fabricator becoming part of the Boeing 747 work crew and later retiring from aircraft work in 2002 giving 16 years of service. After retiring he began working for Vance and Hines tube bender company until 2005. He then fully retired and moved to Las Vegas in 2018 to spend time with his children up until his departure from life.

James leaves to cherish his loving memory, wife: Merdatine Smith; children: Kennon Smith, LaDonna Smith, James Smith, Jr.; step children: Alban Waters, Vincent Waters, Janae Smith, Fibionn A. Finley, Jaidan Smith; great grandchildren: Titan, Roffale B., Naomi B. both of Kansas City, Missouri; sister: Barbara Ann Santiago of Little Rock, Arkansas; brother: Larry Lenord (Shirley) Smith of Little Rock, Arkansas; nephews: Des Smith and Eli Smith both of Las Vegas, Nevada, Mallory Chambers; nieces: Leslie and Keisha of Little Rock, Arkansas and a host of other relatives and friends.