Rollie "Pete" B. Smith

Rollie (“Pete”) Bittick (née Jack) Smith, 87, of Covington, GA., formerly of Smyrna, GA, died March 16, 2013. Mr. Smith, also known as “Pete,” the son of the late Vernon William and Florrie Bittick Smith, was born Jan. 23, 1926, in Miami, FL. His family lived in numerous Georgia towns during his youth as his father travelled as an engineer with the State Highway Department of Georgia. Pete graduated from Wrightsville High School in 1943. He entered the Navy in 1944, and after being honorably discharged, he graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology. Pete and Martha Renee Veal of Atlanta were married in 1952, and the couple settled in Smyrna, GA. where Mr. Smith was employed by Lockheed Aircraft Co. as an aeronautical engineer. They raised four children before Martha passed away in 1981. Mr. Smith retired from Lockheed in 1985, and married his second wife, Francine Bennett, in 1986. The couple moved to Covington in 2006. Mr. Smith was a charter member of First United Lutheran Church in Kennesaw, GA and prior to that was an active member at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Smyrna, GA, where he served as a president of the congregation and as a Sunday school teacher. He enjoyed reading, gardening, wood working and his pet dogs. Pete also loved blue-water sailing on his boat, “Le Vol,” which he sailed from Panama City, FL to New York City Harbor and back in 1986 for the unveiling of the refurbished Statue of Liberty. Survivors include his wife, Francine Bennett Smith, daughters Melinda (Mindy) S. Garrett and her husband, Mark, Marietta, GA, Amy S. Knowles and her husband, Steve, Conway, AR, son John Maxwell (Max) Smith, Carrollton, GA, and stepdaughter Bobbie Blakley and her husband Jim, Littleton, CO. Pete and Martha’s son, Rollie Jack Smith, Mr. Smith’s stepson, Stanley Kugler, and Mr. Smith’s brother, Vernon W. Smith, Jr. predeceased him. Thirteen grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a number of nieces and nephews also survive. The funeral service will be held Thursday, March 21, at 11 a.m., and visitation with the family will be immediately before at 10 a.m. at Wheeler Funeral Home, Covington. A graveside service will be at Kennesaw Memorial Park, Marietta, GA at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Mr. R.B. Smith and designated for the Wheelchair Basketball Team to BlazeSports America, 535 N. McDonough Street, Decatur, GA 30030, www.BlazeSports.org.

Rollie "Pete" B. Smith

January 23, 1926 - March 16, 2013