THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290406
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
S.J. ``Joe'' Smith, 75, former sheriff of the City of Virginia Beach, died March 28, 1996, after a brief illness.
Mr. Smith was born in Suffolk and spent his life serving his country, state, city, and church. He was a reporter for the Suffolk News Herald and Associated Press. He was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II assigned to the USS Cabot CVL-28. Mr. Smith was in nine major battle campaigns in the Pacific and was a recipient of the Presidential Unit Citation. Upon returning from the war; he joined the Virginia State police in 1945 and served the Hampton Roads area for 27 years as a trooper. In 1973, he was elected sheriff of Virginia Beach and served proudly for 12 years. During those years, Mr. Smith oversaw the approval and construction of the Virginia Beach Correctional Center, which received national recognition and was the the first in the state to receive accreditation by the American Medical Association and the Department of Corrections Jail Standards.
Mr. Smith believed in the education of children and spent countless hours serving on numerous PTAs in the city as a member, treasurer and president. Mr. Smith was the recipient of an Outstanding Citizen Award from the Kempsville High School PTA and was named an Honorary Member of the Kempsville Volunteer Fire Department. He was an active member of the Ruritan Club, Kempsville Masonic Lodge (NU)196 A.F. & A.M., Khedive Temple of the Shrine and the Virginia Beach Shrine Club. As an active member of Kempsville Baptist Church, Mr. Smith served as Sunday School Superintendent and as a deacon.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Adele B. Smith; three daughters, Joanne Smith Savage of Norfolk, Anita Lynn Smith and Kathryn Adele Smith; two sons, Glenn Franklin Smith and his wife, Gloria, and Rayford Paul Smith of Virginia Beach. He is also survived by a granddaughter, Ann-Marie Adele Savage of Norfolk.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 30, 1996, at 2 p.m. in Kempsville Baptist Church with Dr. Kelly J. Burris officiating. Burial with military honors and Masonic Rites will be in Rosewood Memorial Park. The family will receive friends tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. at Smith and Williams Funeral Home, Kempsville Chapel, Virginia Beach. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Kempsville Baptist Church, 5204 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach, 23462 or to the Shriner's Crippled and Burned Children's Hospitals, c/o Khedive Temple, 645 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, VA 23320. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB