Thomas Richard "Butch" Smith

ARLINGTON -- Thomas Richard “Butch” Smith, 72, passed away suddenly Tuesday, March 5 2013. Funeral: Services will be held at Fielder Road Baptist Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 9 with Masonic. Interment: To follow at Moore Memorial Gardens, also in Arlington. Visitation: Will be Friday, March 8 at Wade Family Funeral Home on Pioneer Parkway in Arlington from 6 until 8 p.m. Memorials: May be made in Tom's name to Scottish Rite Hospital or the American Heart Association. Tom was born March 31,1940 in Hamlin, Texas. He grew up near Aspermont, Texas along the banks of the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River, which he loved more than any other place. He graduated from Aspermont High School, the University of North Texas, and completed graduate studies in banking at Southern Methodist University. He married Betty Carolyn Rash on July 14, 1962. They had one daughter, Dawn Lynette. After teaching math and serving as a coach at Aspermont High School, Tom and Betty moved to Arlington Texas and he became a banker at Arlington Bank of Trust and continued at Texas Commerce Bank where he spent the majority of his career. Tom was a member of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Jaycees, and the Arlington family YMCA Century Club. He was also a supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Arlington and Future Farmers of America. He was active in the Aspermont High School Alumni Association and participated enthusiastically in homecoming activities every year. He was a Master Mason with over 50 years of service and belonged to both Aspermont and Arlington chapters. Tom was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He cherished his family and was always the first one to lend a hand whenever help was needed. He was an avid hunter and deer season was his favorite time of year. Tom had vivid memories of growing up in rural West Texas and loved reminiscing about characters he had known, schoolboy pranks, and telling tall tales. He had many, many friends and treasured each one. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Neely Smith. His great grandparents, T.K. and Annie Smith, were pioneer settlers on the Double Mountain Fork and established the family homestead where his grandparents, Isaiah and Esther Smith also lived. Survivors: Tom is survived by his wife Betty, his daughter Dawn Nelson of Winston-Salem, NC, her husband Kenneth and their two children, Audrey Belle and Reece Thomas; his sister Barbara Godfrey of Aspermont and her husband John. He has numerous relatives and was beloved by them all. Wade Family Funeral Home Arlington, 817-274-9233