MENARD COUNTY TEXAS  OBITS

JOE SMITH DIES AT 89
Joseph Orville Smith, 89, resident of Menard the past 51 years, died Monday morning in Menard Hospital after a two week illness.
Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon in Mission Funeral Chapel with Rev. John L. Mann, pastor of The First Methodist Church officiating. Burial was in the Pioneer Rest Cemetery under the direction of The Mission Funeral Home.
Mr. Smith was born Jan. 26, 1874, in Indiana. He married Miss Mae Seaman in Silvertown in 1900. She died five years later. He was a stock farmer and operated a wood yard in Menard.
Survivors include a son, Walter Smith of Menard; and four sisters Miss Nell Smith of Menard; Mrs. H.C. Riess and Mrs. Olive Soloman both of Waco, and Mrs. Ethel Walters of Dallas.
Pallbearers were Larry O'Neill, W.F. Volkmann, Jess Slaughter, Clarence William, William Carter and Roscoe Heyman.
[Menard News and Messenger, October 4 1963]

SERVICES FOR MISS NELL SMITH HELD
Miss Nell Smith, 92, passed away in the Menard retirement Home Monday, December 22, 1969. Funeral services were held in the Mission Funeral Home Chapel December 23, with the Rev. Charles Branning officiating. burial will be in the Pioneer Rest Cemetery.
Born September 22, 1877, she had been a resident of the Menard Retirement Home since March, 1966.
Miss Smith was a member of the Methodist Church and taught 16 years in their Sunday School. She was also a charter member of the Menard Library Club, a former member of the Women's Society of Christian Science, Eastern Star and the Red Cross when Mr. Nauwald was head of the Menard organization.
She is survived by four nieces: Miss Maurine Riess of Waco, Miss Nellie Solomon of Waco, Mrs. Wanda Byrd of Dallas and Mrs. Ethel Braswell of Redwood California; eight nephews Bobby Riess of Dallas, Charles Riess of Waco, Harold Riess of Waco, Bill Riess of Sanderson, Walter Smith of Menard, Buster Smith of San Antonio, Conrad Smith of San Antonio and Walter Riess of Waco.
Pallbearers were Tommie Grimes, William A. Carter, Murph Compton, Everett Stewart, Walter Volkmann and Dennis Decker.
[Menard News and Messenger, December 22 1969]

THOS. W. SMITH CIVIL WAR VET IS CALLED HOME
End Comes For 86 Year Old resident at Joe Smith Home Here
Life's span of 86 years ended here early Saturday morning May 20, 1933 for Thomas W. Smith, one of the few remaining Civil War Veterans and a resident of Menard for 20 years. Although feeble for several years, Mr. Smith had been bedfast only a short time.
Funeral services were conducted from the Joe Smith residence at 6 o'Clock Saturday evening and burial was made in Pioneer Rest Cemetery, the resting place of many pioneers of this section. Rev. S.S. Davis pastor of the First Methodist Church conducted the service.
Mr. Smith, a resident of Texas for 56 years, was born in Floyd County, Indiana, October 30, 1847. While still in his teens he joined the Union Forces in the Civil War, serving two years and 10 months as a private in Company C, 27th Indiana Infantry.
Having engaged in many of the major struggles, including the battle of Bull Run, Mr. Smith was able to give an interesting account of his Civil War experiences.
During the reconstruction days, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Nancy Mayfield. Like many of their day, the couple was possessed with the desire to move westward. They settled in San Marcos, in Hayes County in 1877. Eight children were born, six of who survive. Mrs. Olive Solomon, and Mrs. A.C. Riess, Waco; G.W. Smith, Goldthwaite; Mrs. Ethel Ward Walters, Joe Smith and Miss Nell Smith of Menard. The wife of the deceased passed away many years ago when most of the children were quite young, leaving him with all the responsibility of rearing the family.
Mr. Smith was a blacksmith by trade. He engaged in this business at Taylor many years before coming to Menard. He was a member of the Methodist Church since early boyhood, and his christianity was exemplified in his every day life.
A lover of good literature, Mr. Smith found much pleasure in reading during his declining years. Always affable and congenial, even in his last illness. Mr. Smith was a true friend and neighbor, and his passing brought a feeling of sadness to all who knew him.
[Menard News and Messenger, May 1933]

Pioneer Stockman Dies at Menard
Menard, Tex., Aug. 15 - Funeral services will be held here tomorrow for R. H. (Bob) Spiller, 75, pioneer West Texas stockman who died here yesterday.
Starting as a ranch worker at $10 per month and board, Spiller owned and operated a 10,000-acre ranch in Menard and Kimble counties at the time of his death.
[Galveston Daily News, August 16, 1943 - Transcribed by AJ]