Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

December 5,2016

Fred Emerson Smith, Jr., 87, died on December 5, 2016 at his residence at Aldersgate in Charlotte following the complications of a stroke.

Fred was born on May 14, 1929 in Spruce Pine, NC to the late Georgia McDaniel Smith and Fred Emerson Smith, Sr. Fred is survived by his wife of sixty years, Canses Moretz Smith, his daughter, Lauren Smith McCullough and her husband, Joe, and three grandchildren, Kathryn McCullough, Daniel McCullough and his wife, Sara, and Robert McCullough.

Fred attended local Spruce Pine schools and graduated from Tennessee Military Institute. He attended Georgia Tech and the University of Tennessee before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force at the beginning of the Korean War. After four years of service, mostly in Germany and France, he was honorably discharged in January of 1955. Fred joined Mitchell Distributing Company, retiring thirty-seven years later as Vice President and Manager of the Engineering Group. Following his retirement from Mitchell Distributing, he served Vulcan Materials Company for nineteen years as a consultant to the President of the Mideast Division, retiring six weeks before his eighty-first birthday.

Fred’s lifelong commitment to the Methodist Church began at the age of fifteen when he began serving as a permanent usher.   He was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church and, presently, Providence United Methodist Church, serving in numerous capacities including Chairman of the Administrative Board, Chairman of the Trustees, Chairman of Finance, and many operating committees. Fred was a member of the Christian Home Class, a lifetime member of the Methodist Men, and he was honored as a lifetime member of the Church Council. He served as a mentor and math tutor in Communities in Schools for ten years and was twice honored as Volunteer of the Year.

Fred was predeceased by his two brothers, William L. Smith and John C. Smith and by his infant daughter, Mary Hope Smith.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, December 9, 2016 at Providence United Methodist Church with the Reverend Dr. William T. Jeffries, the Reverend Dr. George Thompson, and the Reverend Dr. Milton H. Gilbert officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the Atrium. Burial will be private with military honors.

Memorials may be made to the Aldersgate Assistance Fund, 3800 Shamrock Dr., Charlotte, NC 28215 or to Providence United Methodist Church, 2810 Providence Rd., Charlotte, NC 28211 or to the charity of donor’s choice.  

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth Poe Funeral and Cremation Service 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC  (704) 641-7606. Condolences may be left online at www.kennethpoeservices.com.