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PrintMarvin Lee Smith was born August 29, 1924, passed away peacefully into eternity
November 7, 2017.
He was born in northern Rutherford County and graduated from Mount Vernon School in 1941.
After working on the family farm several years, he was drafted into the United States Army in 1944. He attended Basic Training at Camp Blanding,
Florida and left New York for England in November 1944. His unit was immediately shipped to the front lines in Belgium, and he was assigned to the First Infantry Division on December 19, 1944. The Battle of the Bulge
began three days prior to his arrival. He fought in multiple battles across Germany until the surrender on May 7, 1944. After the war, he remained in Neurenberg, Germany guarding Nazi prisoners accused of war crimes trials, returning home in 1946.
Marvin worked as an auto mechanic then as a machinist at Alexander Mills. He married the former Hazel Ruth Nix in 1947 and they had five children: Marlene, Jean, Roger, Phyllis, and David. Marvin and Hazel moved their family to Lynchburg, VA in 1960, and he worked at General Electric. The couple separated in 1966. Marvin married the former Elizabeth Dunn in 1971. Their son Keith was born in 1973. Marvin retired and the family moved to Lincolnton, NC in 1984. Elizabeth passed away in 1996. Marvin lived most recently in a retirement home in Kernersville, NC.
He is survived by all six of his children except Marlene who passed away in 2010. He also leaves ten grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. His most significant contributions in life were his examples for all who new him of unfaltering faith in Jesus Christ and his patriotism to his country.
Service was held at Mt Vernon Baptist Church sanctuary.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made either to Hospice of the Piedmont, 1801 Westchester Drive, High Point, NC 27262 (www.hospiceofthepiedmont.org); or, to Mount Vernon Baptist Church, 2676 Hudlow Rd, Forest City, NC 28043.
Funeral arrangements are by McMahan Funeral Home.
