- Date Of Birth: October 29, 1927
- Date Of Death: June 1, 2013
- State: Ohio
Salem – Billy R. Smith, age 85, died at 9:10 p.m. Saturday, June 1, 2013, at the Salem Health Care and Rehab. Billy was born Oct. 29, 1927 in Richwood, West Virginia, the son of the late James W. and Oda B. (Bennett) Smith. Billy was a graduate of the Nicholas County High School in Summerville, West Virginia. He retired in January 1988 from General Motors in Lordstown, where he had been a welder for 35 years. Billy was a member of the Deerfield Evangelical Friends Church, and was the Founder of the Ascensions, a Southern Gospel Singing Group. Billy was a World War II veteran, where he served in the Army Air Force. He is survived by his wife, Ona Lee (Bragg) Smith, whom he married Dec. 22, 1951; a son Jeffrey (Becky) Smith of Salem; a daughter, Beverly (Gary) Haberman of Mentor, Ohio; six grandchildren, Dawn (Jamie) Stamper, Dyan (Sam) Windom, Danielle (Chad) Wyen, David (Mindy) Haberman, Jarrett Smith and Sarah Smith; and twelve great-grandchildren, Noah, Ashlynn, Abbey, Annessa, Justus, Jace, Jovia, Mylee, Madison, Chloe, Carlee, and Cassie. Three sisters and four brothers preceded Billy in death.
