Gerald W. Smith

SANTEE - Mr. Gerald Wilburn Smith, 90, of Santee, passed away Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at The Church of the Epiphany in Eutawville with Rev. Tom Hendrickson officiating. Burial, with military rites, will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends before the service from 1 - 1:45 p.m. and after the committal service in the Ministry Center of the church. Mr. Smith was born in Spartanburg, SC, a son of the late Harry Conway Smith and Callie McCombs Smith. He was an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II having been a POW until the end of the war, and a Purple Heart recipient. He served as a B-17 Ball Turret Gunner with the 483rd Bombardment Squadron during the war. As a former POW he was active in the Palmetto Chapter of POW's. Mr. Smith received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina. After practicing law for a short time he went on to work with State Farm and retired as a Claims Consultant. Mr. Smith was as a very active member of The Church of the Epiphany, Brotherhood of St. Andrews, and Fishers of Men when his health allowed. He was preceded in death by his wife, Anne Harding Jett Smith; a daughter, Allyson Harding Lawhorn; six sisters; and one brother. His passions in life were family, church, golf and USC Gamecocks. Surviving are daughters, Mellicent (Tim) Wishau of Libertyville, IL, and Courtenay (Dave) Smith of Denver, NC; a son, Gerry (Linda) Smith of Bloomington, IL; a brother, Gaines (Elinor) Smith of Charleston; grandchildren, Valerie Lawhorn (Robert Lindemann), Robert Lawhorn, Stephanie Lawhorn, Katie Wishau, Jackie Wishau, Gerry (Kelly) Smith III, Anthony Smith (Charity), Lindsay Smith, Ashley Smith, Callie Swanlund (Phillip Fackler); and great-grandchildren, Ada and Miles Lindemann, Jackson and Parker Smith, Elliott and Linus Fackler, and Aiden Reddington. Memorials may be made to The Church of the Epiphany, PO Box 9, Eutawville, SC 29048. Avinger Funeral Home is assisting the family. www.avingerfh.com