Larry Lee Smith, 81, of Cisne entered eternal rest on April 20, 2026, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
Larry was born on August 28, 1944, in Rinard, Illinois to Owen and Elsie (Hickenbottom) Smith. Larry graduated from Fairfield Community High School in 1964. On November 27, 1964, he married the love of his life, Mary Ruth Smith (née Simpson). In 1966, their daughter Pamela was born.
Larry and Mary Ruth moved to Texas in the 1980s and returned to Cisne in 2021. Larry had a rare gift for connection; he never met a stranger, only friends he hadn’t talked to yet. Over the years, he built a wide circle of friendships through his work at GTE, his time as a truck driver on the open road, and later in retirement, where he seemed to find just as much joy in conversation as in rest. Larry was active in the church and enjoyed helping others. He was most recently a member of the First Southern Baptist Church of Flora. He was a steady presence in his church community, always ready to lend a hand, share a kind word, and help wherever help was needed. To those who knew him best, Larry will be remembered not just for what he did, but for the warmth and kindness he brought into every room he entered. A source of joy for Larry was spending time traveling, camping, fishing, visiting friends and family, being in his workshop, watching old Western shows, and telling stories to his grandchildren. Larry found some of his deepest joy in the simple things in life, like camping under open skies, sitting around a fire, and telling stories. He also enjoyed spending mornings catching up on the news, listening to gospel, country, and bluegrass music, and sipping on a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
Larry is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary Ruth; daughter and son-in-law, Pamela and Leonard Trapane III of Jacksonville, FL; five grandchildren, Autumn (Kevin) Parks of Cheyene, WY; Courtney Bayles of Lacey, WA; Lenny Trapane of Cedar Rapids, IA; Elena (Aran) Simawe of Coralville, IA; and Tisa Plotner of Jacksonville, FL; and four great grandchildren, Payton and Sadie Parks and Ethan and Oakleigh Bayles. Larry is also survived by brothers Karel (Gladys) Smith and Lex (Judy) Smith, sister-in-law Joselene Smith, brothers-in-law K.D. (Shirley) Simpson and Lester Simpson, and sisters-in-law Eleanor Venable, Karen Singleterry, and Trudy (Victor) Simpson, and numerous nieces and nephews and their families.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents, Owen and Elsie Smith, brothers Marvin Smith, Max Smith, and Kelly Smith, brothers-in-law Bill Simpson and Ervin Simpson, and sisters-in-law Evelyn Byrge and Diana West.
Visitation will be Saturday April 25th from 10am until the time of the funeral service with burial to follow in the Cisne Cemetery. Visitation and service will be at Johnson and Vaughn Funeral Home in Fairfield.
The family would like to thank Larry’s cousins, Rick (Verna) Smith, and Pam (Greg) Courtright, the staff of Residential Living Center, and his medical teams at Good Samaritan
Hospital, especially Palliative Care and Hospice, who allowed Larry to live his final months and moments with dignity and compassion.
In lieu of flowers, the family appreciates donations made to SSM Health Foundation with a note to go to the Palliative Care Service, or your favorite local charity, to help those in need.
Johnson and Vaughn Funeral Home is in charge of all the arrangements.
