Martin Wallace Smith 1904-1975

Martin "Wallace" Smith was born March 13, 1904 in Karbers Ridge, Illinois. He was the 7th of 10 children born to Charley Judy (C. J.) and Rhoda Jane (Miller) Smith. He went to be with his Lord and Savior at his farm in Siloam Springs, Arkansas on September 21, 1975.

Wallace was a child of God. He fought a good fight, he finished the course and he kept the faith.

In 1906 the C. J. Smith family moved to Fulton County, Arkansas via railroad boxcar to homestead 160 acres.

In 1915 the family moved by 2 covered wagons (21 days) to the Tulsa, OK area where C.J. sharecropped cotton.

Desiring a Christian education for his children, C.J.'s family moved by car and railroad boxcar in 1919 to McKinney, TX.

In 1922 Wallace and his older brother went to Central College and Academy in McPherson, KS. In 1924 Wallace's parents and their 5 children were in McPherson, KS where 4 of the children were attending the Christian school.

During Wallace's high school years, he helped build the Life Line Children's Home (Christian orphanage) in Kansas City, KS.

Wallace graduated from high school at Central in 1930 and went to Bethany Orphanage in Bethany, KY (a faith work) where he was the maintenance man and did whatever needed to be done.

He married Marie Ellis, the cook at the Bethany Orphanage on August 17, 1935. Two daughters and a son were born in Kentucky before the family moved to a farm in Siloam Springs, Arkansas in December 1941 where another son was born.

Wallace did some farming and was a Sanitation Engineer for the city of Siloam Springs, Arkansas (took care of the city dump). He did recycling before it was popular.

His interests were church and reading. (He could retell a book with all the details.) He could recite readings he had learned in high school.

He and his wife, Marie, who died March 13, 1975, sacrificed to give their children a Christian education. They will be remembered for their conscientious stewardship and sacrificial giving to their church. They had a compassionate heart for the less fortunate (orphans and people needing housing or a "helping hand"). They practiced practical Christianity.

Wallace died suddenly on Sunday, Sept 21, 1975 after a full day of church and fellowship with Christian friends. His wife Marie, his parents, 2 brothers, Carl and Frank, and one sister, Anna Barrett preceded him in death.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his 4 children and their spouses, 12 grandchildren, his sisters, Edna (Ira) Barrett of Stanwood, WA, Bertha (Everett) Dixon, Phoenix, AZ, Mary Haddock (Roy), Muskogee, OK, Zelma (Elburn) Gregory, Ault, CO, his brothers, Bill (Jessie) Oklahoma City area, and Clarence (Juanita) Southern California.

Funeral services were held on Wednesday, September 24, 1975 at 2 p.m. at the Siloam Springs, Arkansas Free Methodist Church located at 519 S. Maxwell with Rev. Paul Willard conducting the service. Burial was in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Siloam Springs, Arkansas under the direction of Pyette's Funeral Home.

Written by Wallace's daughter Charlotte.

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• Link to grandson Rocky Joe Smith
• Known grandfathers who contributed to and/or participated in the Revolutionary War include John Judy, Sr (1759-1841)