Dr. Amos Hedrick Smith

Dr. Amos H Smith age 87, of Vance Circle died Tuesday night at Forsyth Medical Center after several years of declining health and a serious illness of five weeks. A private graveside service will be Friday at Lexington City Cemetery by Dr. Ray Howell 3rd. Dr. Smith was born March 29, 1921, in High Point, to Amos George Smith and Ida Oma Hedrick Smith. He received his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University and his dental degree from University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. Dr. Smith was a lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Dental Corps. He was stationed in San Francisco, then sent to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where he met Betty Ann Sharpe and they were married on September 17, 1947. He was the shipboard dentist at Bikini Atoll during the testing of the atomic bomb. Dr. Smith remained in the naval reserves until resigning his commission in 1956. Dr. Smith practiced general dentistry in Lexington until his retirement in 1985. He was a member and past president of the Lexington Lions Club; a member of the Lexington Civitans; Lexington Memorial Masonic Lodge 473; the North Carolina Dental Society and the Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Lexington and was a past Sunday school teacher. He was preceded in death by two stepbrothers, Dermont Beck and Reid Beck; and two stepsisters, Doris Beck and Violet Hedrick. Surviving are his wife of 60 years; a son, Amos “Rick” H. Smith Jr. and wife, Gwinnie; a daughter, Raye Ann Koonts and husband, Robert, all of Lexington; and two granddaughters, Ellen Elizabeth Smith and Anna Marie Koonts, both of Lexington. Memorials may be directed to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 436, Lexington, NC 27293; North Carolina Baptist Children’s Home, P.O. Box 338, Thomasville, NC 27360; or Hospice of Davidson County, P.O. Box 1941, Lexington, NC 27293. Special thanks to Alpha Health Care, Hospice of Davidson County and all the special care givers during Dr. Smith’s illness. Dr. Smith will remain at Davidson Funeral Home Lexington Chapel, and the family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday July 31, 2008, at the home on Vance Circle.