Charles Leon Smart

Leon Smart Funeral service for Charles "Leon" Smart, age 89, of Frederick, Oklahoma, was at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at the First Baptist Church in Frederick, with Rev. Les Banks, officiating. Mr. Smart passed away Wednesday, July 16, 2008, in Frederick, Oklahoma. Burial with Veterans Honors was in the Frederick Memorial Cemetery under the direction of Gray Gish Funeral Home. Charles Leon Smart was born on November 7, 1918, in Hollister, Oklahoma, to Thomas Walter and Mary Irene (Benge) Smart. He grew up in Hollister, Oklahoma, where he attended school and graduated high school in 1937. He attended Draughn's Business College before playing minor league baseball, where he played as hind catcher and his brother, Elmo, was the pitcher. He served honorably in the United States Army from January 1943 to December 1945, as a Sergeant with Company B 206th Engineer Combat Battalion. He served in Normandy, Rhineland, Northern France and Central Europe, where he received the EAME Theater Ribbon, Four Bronze Service Stars, a Good Conduct Medal and a World War II Victory Ribbon. He married Norma Jean Phipps in 1958 in Frederick. He was a wheat farmer and avid golfer. He retired after 27 years as a custodian and bus driver for Frederick Public Schools. He was a member of the First Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Norma, in 1988; a brother: Elmo Smart and a sister: Geraldine Smart. He is survived by a son: Chuck Smart, of Grandfield, Oklahoma; a sister: Imogene Martin, of Shalimar, Florida and numerous nieces and nephews. Gray Gish Funeral Home 580-335-2112