Jack Ransom Smith, 83, passed away to his eternal reward on
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
. He was the last surviving member of his famil
y
. Jack was born in
Spartanburg
,
Sout
h
Carolina
on
October 26, 1926
to Lonis Durham Sanders and Louis Edward Sanders.
Jack was raised in Palm Beach County Florida and was formally adopted by his stepfather, Ransom Ear
l
Smith. He served in the Merchant Marine during W.W.II
.
Jack
moved to southern
C
alifornia
with his family where he worked for Lockheed Aircraft
Corporation. Jack's second step-father, Max Charles Beust and his mother conducted
businesses at
South Lake Tahoe
and enticed Jack to manage their holdings. After the
accidental death of his brother, Louis Earl Smith, and the demise of his step-father, Jack
and his mother moved back to
Spartanburg
.
After the death of his mother, Jack wanted to visit
Ithaca
,
New York
but got lost on the
Pennsylvania Turnpike and ended up in
Grantsville
,
Maryland
. He wrote two published
novels: THE CONTAINER IS READY and THE INTERGALACTIC EXPRESS. Both
of which were inspi
r
ed by his work at Lockheed. When he moved to Frostburg, he wrote
his autobiography
,
SMOKEY MOUNTAIN LOVE STORY and another novel based on
Max Beust's journ
a
ls of the
China-Burma Road
, THE ODYSSEY OF THE 330TH
COMBAT ENGIN
E
ERS
.
Upon meeting Eileen Stoger, he settled down in
Garrett
County
to help run her ranch.
Jack was revered by all who met him as a "True Southern Gentleman". He helped the
neighborhood ch
i
ld
r
en appreciate jazz with his lessons on the drum. While visiting the
schools where Eileen taught
,
he read to the children, always encouraging them to do their
best and earned the
t
itle of "Candy Man" by bringing sweet reinforcements to the class.
Jack's cherished friend, Steve Wininger, was the son he never had
.
Steve's family, Ellen,
Chelsea, Matt and Maddie were such a comfort and help every day but especially during
the challenging ones. Jack looked on the children in the neighborhood as his
grandchildren: Tyle
r
, Madison and Liam Dolchan, Ryan, Chris and Dylan McCann and
little Claire Rasley. He treasured many happy holidays, birthdays, sports events and
milestones in their l
i
ves.
One of Jack's recent joys was at the Nava
l
Academy Chapel where he was Jeffrey (Eileen's son) Winebrenner's Best Man. He added a new daughter
-
in-law, Joanne T
u
in
,
and two new grandchildren
,
David and
Alexandria
. to his family. Jack is survived by the love of his life, Eileen Stoger and her family, Linda
,
Andrew and Daniel Winebrenner of
Virginia Beach
.
During his illness h
e
was amazed and thri
l
led at the many kindnesses, cards, pictures,
v
isits, balloons and
m
eals from the children at Route 40 School, his neighbors and friends
and all whose life h
e
touched.
According to his wishes, Jack will be cremated
.
A funeral mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 11:00 AM at Saint Ann's Church
,
Grantsville
,
MD with Father Ed Hendricks, celebrant
.
Friends are welcomed to attend. Arrangements by the Eichhorn-McKenzie Funeral Home, P.A.,
Midland
(www.eichhornmckenzie.com).
Memorials may be made to
Beall
Elementary School
in
Frostburg
,
MD.
A summer celebration of Jack's life will be announced when Jeffrey and his family are stateside in August
.
Service Schedule
Past Services
Midland Location
Guestbook
Visits: 2
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors