Samuel D. Smith died Sunday, September 12, 2010 at 12:03 a.m., in Cox South at the age of 87. He was born in Dallas, Texas on August 11, 1923. He attended the public schools in Garland, Texas, then went on to study at SMU in Dallas, but his education was interrupted by WWII when he spent 1943-1946 in combat as a soldier in the US Army. After the Army, he received his A.B. degree from Phillips University in Oklahoma, and was ordained as a minister. He earned a B.D. degree from Brite Divinity School at TCU in Ft. Worth, Texas and served churches in Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, before he went on to receive a Ph. D from the graduate school of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1965. In 1958, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Drury College and he and his family moved to Springfield, where he taught college students and also served as Dean of the Drury School of Religion from 1966 to 1988. Sam stayed active right up until his last three weeks of illness-working out, riding bikes, traveling abroad and enjoying every moment of it with his friends and with his family. He also loved the outdoors through canoeing, fishing, hiking, skiing, and visiting his land for many years. He is survived by his wife, Lois; son, David Smith, Dallas; son, Ben Smith, Springfield; daughter, Angela Smith, Madison, Wisc.; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. He was so grateful for his one surviving sister, Doris Coomer in Texas, his brothers-in-law, Bill and Ron Covington; and his sisters-in-law, Eloise and Sandy Covington, all from Texas; and for all of his extended family and friends both in Springfield and Texas. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, September 16, 2010 in National Avenue Christian Church, 1515 South National, under the care of Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel. A reception with light refreshments will follow. The family prefers that people who wish to make donations, make them to charitable institutions of their choice rather than provide flowers.