Lewis Smith

(From Mason-Woodard Mortuary)

Lewis Elwood Smith, 95, of Carthage Missouri died peacefully at Mercy Hospital after a
brief illness. Lewis was born on September 21, 1928 in Garden City, Michigan to Flossie (Jones) Smith and Lewis Smith.

The family relocated to the Boulder City, NV area where Lewis attended school. After completion of high school, he joined the Army Air Corp and went to boot camp in MA where he met his future wife, Helen Irene Zanetti. 

Shortly after, the war ended and the two were married and relocated to NV. Lewis realized that getting a degree was paramount, and moved his then young family to Montana, where he attended Montana State University and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Hearing the call from the growing aerospace industry, he eventually moved his wife and then three young children to California. Lewis became highly involved in aerospace and his career included such major programs as the Apollo space missions, Skylab and the Space Shuttle program. He was one of a select group of pioneering engineers to tackle some of the complexities of space travel, paving the way for today’s efforts to reach Mars and beyond.

He also was personally selected by Willard Rockwell, Founder of what was to become Rockwell International, to design an original deep-diving submarine called the Beaver. The Beaver was successful in many “first application” trials, lending to the development of modern deep diving research submersibles. The Beaver was eventually sold to Japan and remains there today.

Lewis retired early and moved from California to Nevada, Texas and eventually to Joplin, Missouri. Following the death of his wife, he moved to Carthage, MO where he resided until his death. Lewis was preceded in death by his wife Helen, his parents, and his siblings Glenn Arnold Smith, Marjorie Benvenuto, Arlene Miller and Loretta Geelhood. He is survived by his children Glenn Alan Smith, Bonnie Greider, Barbara Smith and Martin Smith, nine grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

A private burial service is scheduled for Tuesday morning, October 31, 2023 in Joplin, MO.