Celebrating the life of
Malberry Smith, Jr.
August 22, 1915 - June 11, 2012
Malberry Smith, Jr.
Funeral services for Malberry Smith Jr., a lawyer who practiced in Savannah for more than half a century and a former state legislator, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Wesley Monumental Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Bonaventure Cemetery. Mr. Smith died Monday at Buckingham South. He was 96.
Mr. Smith was a member of half a dozen Savannah firms throughout the years and in the late 1940s, he served in the Georgia state legislature. In 1953, he and his best friend, George Oliver, founded the firm of Oliver and Smith, which was dissolved in 1959 when Oliver was appointed to the Superior Court bench. Mr. Smith then joined the firm of Corish, Smith, Remler and Moore.
For many years, he was the attorney for the Savannah Housing Authority.
Prematurely gray, he cut quite a figure in his glory days, striding to the courthouse in his seersucker suit, bow tie, and white bucks. A bow tie, he always said, showed you were "a rugged individualist," a description he was proud of.
Mr. Smith grew up in College Park, Ga., and often spoke of going barefoot to school. Nevertheless, he was elected president of his high school class and was admitted to Columbia University. After graduation from Columbia in 1936 and Columbia Law School in1938, he moved to Savannah to begin his practice.
He promptly joined Wesley Monumental Methodist Church, where he met Claire Tanner. They were married in 1943, shortly after Mr. Smith, a Naval Reserve Officer, was called to active duty in World War II. A lieutenant commander, he taught first at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, then served on the USS Enterprise and the USS Cowpens as a communications officer. He was present at Tokyo Bay for the signing of the armistice ending the war with Japan.
He also served in the Korean War on the USS Valley Forge CVA-45.
He was a lifelong member of Wesley Church, where he held, as he put it, "almost every office in the church." He was a thirty-second degree Mason, member of the Scottish Rite, and the Shrine. He was a member of the Civitan Club and the Jaycees, and Post Commander of the Military Order of the World Wars. He also served on the board of the Salvation Army.
He was widowed in 1999 and three years later, at age 86, married Carol Moore, the only woman at Habersham House who still colored her hair. He was widowed a second time in 2007.
Mr. Smith made national news several years ago when he repaid a $5 debt dating back to high school, for a ticket to a dance that he purchased on credit. He figured the interest on the debt and repaid the club that held the dance the $5 plus several hundred more. "That debt just always bothered me," he told NPR when a reporter asked why he went to all that trouble.
He is survived by his three children, Julie Smith of New Orleans, Steve Smith of Dunwoody, and Mittie Staininger of Savannah and Los Angeles. He is also survived by five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, soon to be seven.
Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at Fox and Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel.
Remembrances may be made to Buckingham South, 5450 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA 31405.
Fox and Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel
Sympathy from an ATO Brother Bob Warnock!
- Bob Warnock, Houston, TX
Mittie, My heart goes out to you my dear friend!
- Kirsten, Savannah, GA
Mittie, I'm also very sorry to hear of your father's passing and I wish I could be there in person for you. I just read about your father and he was clearly a very special person.
- Danny Roberts, San Diego, CA
Mittie, I was saddened to hear of the death of your father. I will always remember him from the ballet school- one of the many fathers who always showed up to support their talented daughters!
- Bobbie Shelton, Savannah, GA
Dear Mittie, Greg and family, I am so sorry to hear of your father's passing. I hope the sweet memories, of your time with him, will ease your grief. I wish I had known him. Prayers for you during this difficult time.-Sally Burns Shapiro
- Sally, Savannah, GA
Dear Steve and Family, Please accept my sincerest condolences for your loss.
- Jay Hall, Savannah, GA
Sympathy from an ATO Brother Bob Warnock!
- Bob Warnock, Houston, TX
Mittie, My heart goes out to you my dear friend!
- Kirsten, Savannah, GA
Mittie, I'm also very sorry to hear of your father's passing and I wish I could be there in person for you. I just read about your father and he was clearly a very special person.
- Danny Roberts, San Diego, CA
Mittie, I was saddened to hear of the death of your father. I will always remember him from the ballet school- one of the many fathers who always showed up to support their talented daughters!
- Bobbie Shelton, Savannah, GA
Dear Mittie, Greg and family, I am so sorry to hear of your father's passing. I hope the sweet memories, of your time with him, will ease your grief. I wish I had known him. Prayers for you during this difficult time.-Sally Burns Shapiro
- Sally, Savannah, GA
Dear Steve and Family, Please accept my sincerest condolences for your loss.
- Jay Hall, Savannah, GA
Services under the direction of:
Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel
912-352-7200
