Ronald "Ron" Gene Smith

On July 14^th, 2023, Ronald Gene Smith, loving husband, dad, and granddad passed away peacefully at home at the age of 70. 

Ron was born on April 15^th, 1953 in Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas to I.N. Smith and Lille Belle (LeDeaux) Smith.  He was the youngest of their three sons.  Ron had a son, Scott, with his second wife Ruth.  Ron married a third time to Diana on May 12^th, 2007. 

Included in his work history, Ron worked for Key Electronics for 11 years and for Big Bend Telephone in Alpine, Texas for 22 years.  He retired in 2013 and pursued his hobby of stargazing and solar viewing in his backyard observatory with his “cluster” of telescopes.  Ron and wife Diana were passionate about their hobby which included astrophotography. They spent many hours at night viewing God’s creations through the lenses of their telescopes.  Ron was a Christian and had a strong belief in God and was extremely knowledgeable about the bible and its teachings.  He had a good relationship with his savior and his God.  Ron also believed in the value of organizations like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and made monthly contributions to their cause. 

Although he chose not to join Mensa when they offered him a membership, he ranked very high in the High IQ society, scoring at 98^th percentile on a standardized, IQ intelligence test yet he remained humble and rarely mentioned it.  He was a loving, caring, and patient man and will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him. 

Ron was preceded in death by his dad, I.N. and mom Lille Belle.  Ron is survived by his wife Diana, son Scott, stepson Mark and his 4 children who call him Ron granddad, and stepson Matthew.  He is also survived by his older brothers Edward and Gordon. 

It was Ron’s wish to be cremated.  He also did not want a funeral, viewing of the body or a memorial service.  Condolences may be submitted to surviving family members by whatever media is preferred. 

Services have been entrusted to Alpine Memorial Funeral Home in Alpine, Texas.