Obituary of Thomas Smith

Thomas "Tommy" Lee Smith, 68, husband of Janice C. Smith died Sunday, July 24, 2011 at Georgetown Memorial Hospital. Born on December 31, 1942, in Fredericksburg, VA, he was a son of the late Richard Garnett Smith, Sr. and the late Elnora Gardner Smith. Tommy was a member of First Baptist Church Georgetown, the Lide Williams Sunday School class, the Young as Ever Group and the Young and Restless Group. He was also a member of the Fredericksburg, VA Elks Lodge #875 and the Winyah Cruisers. Tommy’s love of autos started very young in life. While still in high school he started driving a school bus but soon he got racing fever and became a drag racing champion. He worked for 20 years as a mechanic for a Chrysler Plymouth dealership in Fredericksburg, VA. He and Janice opened T & J Auto Services which was very successful for another 20 years. After retiring to Georgetown he still needed to work on cars, so he began working on Georgetown County vehicles. He and Janice soon joined Winyah Cruisers and proudly showed their classic antique cars all over the south. Survivors include his wife of Georgetown; two daughters, Teresa D’Orazio (Brian) and Kimberly Penick (Chuck) both of Fredericksburg, VA; two grandchildren, Seth Penick (Amanda) of Marshall, VA and Kelly Penick of Blacksburg, VA; two brothers, Richard G. Smith, Jr. (Inez) of Spotsylvania, VA and George E. Smith (Toni) of Ashland, VA; and several nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be held at 11 AM Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at First Baptist Church with Dr. Ted Sherrill and Rev. Keith Wall officiating. The family will receive friends from 6-8 PM Tuesday at First Baptist Church. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 219 Cleland St. Georgetown, SC 29440 or the hospice group of one’s choice.