Earl Leroy Smith, 86, of Waterford, PA passed into eternity on March 10, 2021, while a resident of Pleasant Ridge Manor. Earl was born on September 10, 1934, the son of the late Stanley Charles and Mildred Emma Sorger Smith. He graduated with the Cambridge Springs High School class of 1952 and DeVry Technical Institute of Chicago. Earl worked many years for National Fuel Gas of Erie until his retirement in 1996. He was an active church member, first at the United Methodist Church in Venango then at the First United Methodist Church of Erie. Earl was a lifetime member of the Venango Volunteer Fire Department and a fifty-year Masonic member. In retirement he loved to travel including many bus trips in the U.S. and a tour of the Hawaiian Islands.
????He is survived by daughter, Pamela Smith of North East; son, Doug Smith and his companion, Julie Grehl, of McKean; grandchildren Elizabeth Smith of Waterford, Cameron Smith of Florida, and Ryan Smith of Erie; great grandchildren Jude Shirk and Dakoda Shirk of Waterford; and siblings: Fred Smith (Barbara) of Florida, Carl Smith (Donna) of Edinboro, Jean (Richard) Black of Meadville, Geraldine (James) Reichel of Meadville, Donald Smith of Venango, Mildred (Wilfred) Douglass of Meadville, Mary (Ronald) Brown of Cambridge Springs, Norma (Walter) Woodward of Venango, Stanley (Irene) Smith of McKean; and good friends, Herb Heidecker and Frances Carr of Waterford.
A private committal service will be held at Venango Cemetery. Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial service on Saturday, April 3, 2021, at 11 a.m. at Venango United Methodist Church. Out of respect for all who wish to attend, masks are required, and physical distancing will be observed.
Dear Pam ~ Our deepest sympathy to you and your entire family on the passing of your sweet dad. Our collective memories of him started many years ago at F.U.M.C. in Erie and grew forwardly until these past couple of years. Earl was so active at church, for a long time, and really enjoyed all of the different committees he served on and loved everyone in the congregation. I will always remember his smiling face as he greeted us at the foot of the balcony, back in the days when we all would sit up there. He had such a way of making everyone feel so welcomed with his beautiful smile. It was also such a pleasure seeing him dinning out at one of his favorite clubs when we would stop in, too. Everyone knew “Earl” and everyone always made it a point to take their time and stop at his table to say, “hello” or exchange the word for the day! He was so well liked and will be greatly missed by many people. You have been a wonderful daughter and you took such good care of your dad. God bless you, my dear friend. You have a heart of gold and a soul of an Angel. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
With love ~
Molly and Sue Faber