Obituary of Thomas E. Smith

Smith, Thomas E., 72, of Seminole, died Friday, April 24th. Born in Detroit, Michigan. Survived by his wife of 53 years Margaret; son, Thomas A. Smith Angela; daughters, Linda Drake Russell and Lora Wong David; brother, Gary Smith; sister, Donna Delaney; 8 grandchildren, Jayson, Nina, Ryan, Justin, Whitney, Chelsie, Holly, David; 2 great grandchildren, Jordyn and Brody. He was predeceased by his sister, Barbara D. Turpin. Tom moved his family to St Petersburg in 1972 after vacationing in St Pete for many years. An entrepreneur from the age of 23, as owner of Shell service stations, both in Detroit and here in St. Petersburg. For over 35 years. "Tom Smith Shell" was known in our community for honesty, and dependability with auto repairs, without compromising quality service given to his customers. He won numerous awards throughout the years from Shell Oil Co. for his top performance and quality service. He and his wife were members of St Petersburg Yacht Club for 25 years and Suncoast Cruise Club of St Petersburg. He loved the ocean and boating was his favorite way to relax with family and friends. His favorite sport was Hockey and he was a fan of Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Redwings. Hockey was also the sport he shared with his youngest grandson David, who plays for the Tampa youth hockey team "the Titans". Over the past 20 years Tom and Margaret have attended First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks. They love and support the contributions made by the church to our community. The family requests that donations are made to First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks in Tom's memory in lieu of flowers. Visitation: 12:00 - 1:00 PM Thursday at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, 12685 Ulmerton Road, Largo, with the Funeral at 1:00 PM.