ERNEST SMITH

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Ernest L. Smith, 92, of Bloomfield died Sunday, March 4, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

He was born July 28, 1908, in Bloomfield, son of Oscar Lee and Cora Jones Smith. He and Mary Ruth Scism were married Oct. 9, 1936.

Smith lived his entire life in the Bloomfield community. He worked as an auto mechanic for 30 years, an auto parts man for 30 years and at McDonald's in Dexter for six years.

He was a member of Mount Pisgah General Baptist Church in Aquilla and had several years of perfect attendance there. A talented musician, he served as the choir director and sang with the Missourians Quartet in the 1950s. In 1999, Smith received the Older Worker of the Year award for the state of Missouri.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Shirley Walker of Puxico, Mo.; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Friends may call from 6-8 p.m. today at Chiles-Cooper Funeral Home in Bloomfield.

Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. The Revs. Cotus James, Dean Medlin and Bob Holland will officiate, with burial in the North Antioch Cemetery.