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On the mild, sunny Thursday afternoon of March 5, 2020 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, James Leslie "Jim" Smith peacefully passed away at the age of 66 from pancreatic cancer that he had been fiercely battling for the last 18 months.
Jim was born on November 24, 1953 in Raton, New Mexico to Norman Leslie and Viola Marie Buck Smith. Jim’s father worked for Conoco on the seismograph crew traveling the country for oil exploration. Thus, Jim and his sisters were each born in different states: older sister Joyce in Riverton, Wyoming and younger sister Jo Ann in Houston, Texas. A promotion for their father brought them to Ponca City, Oklahoma in 1957 where he spent his childhood.
Jim and his family spent summers visiting his grandparents John and Margaret Smith, who lived in Williamstown, a small town in northeast Missouri with a population of only 100. His grandma planted large gardens and made him fruit pies, and he would go fishing with his grandpa using crawdads and worms for bait.
Jim graduated from Ponca City Senior High School in 1972. He went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Oklahoma in 1977. Upon graduation, he worked in finance until he began working for Conoco in Ponca City on November 16, 1981. Jim started in the Treasury Department and held numerous positions in the company, from payroll accountant to coordinator and supervisor, to advisory positions in expatriate payroll and ending his career as a senior tax payroll advisor. Jim’s job transferred to Bartlesville, Oklahoma in November 2002 when Conoco and Phillips 66 merged into ConocoPhillips. Jim later retired from ConocoPhillips on May 1, 2015. His nearly 34 year career with Conoco and ConocoPhillips were blessed with many lifelong friendships and a few that evolved into a bond as strong as family, most notably Tina Staggs.
Jim married Mary Patricia Hercyk of Ponca City on August 21, 1976 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. They settled in Ponca City after graduating from college and built a home on 20 acres of farmland gifted to them by Mary’s parents, Stefan and Kateryna Hercyk. Mary’s parents were Ukrainian and met in a displaced persons camp in Germany after WWII ended in 1945. They married and had a daughter before immigrating to the United States in August, 1949. Mary was the first child of three to be born in America. Jim affectionately called his inlaws Pop and Mama, and fully embraced the Ukrainian culture of her family. He was especially close to Mama and enjoyed helping her in the kitchen and in her garden. Marrying into a farming family, he took to working wheat harvest, hauling alfalfa, driving trucks and tractors, and helping out wherever he could. Jim always said those 27 years of living in the country were the happiest of his life.
A major part of that happiness was the birth of daughter Catherine Leslie on March 25, 1989. Jim was an actively involved Dad who took to fatherhood naturally. He spent hundreds of hours reading to Catherine, who to this day is an avid reader. He helped coach her in soccer as a child and the two of them became certified soccer referees and would spend weekends together at the soccer fields reffing games. Jim was very proud of Catherine’s accomplishments as a student and in the arts. But, more than anything, he was proud of the loving, caring person she is. From day one of his cancer diagnosis, she was with him every step of the way from doctor appointments to treatments to seeking out the country’s best doctors for his care in Chicago, Durham, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta. And Jim was equally proud of his son-in-law, Dr. Joshua Lerner. Jim witnessed Josh’s transformation from a graduate student earning his Ph.D. to becoming a professor of political science at Duke University. Josh was there supporting Catherine every step of the way on this cancer journey.
Jim enjoyed cooking elaborate breakfasts on weekends and hosting family barbecues on the farm. He was also an avid reader, liked football and soccer, traveling, gardening, and after retiring collecting fossils, rocks and minerals. Jim also loved his Boston terrier, Bogart, who was affectionately referred to as his second child. They were inseparable and would go on walks daily. They were well known fixtures around the Park Hill neighborhood and Sooner Park.
This experience with cancer reaffirmed the goodness in the world when the Park Hill neighborhood rallied around in support of Jim moving to Chicago for six months for his initial treatment. In his final weeks of life, he was fortunate to have been able to spend it in Atlanta with his sister Joyce, nieces Marisa and Heddy and her husband Kevin. Catherine, Josh, Mary, and of course Bogart were also there. This last trip was possible with the aid of Jimmy Shook, a friend of over 50 years who considered each other to be brothers.
Jim was preceded in death by his father-in-law Stefan Hercyk on December 11, 1996, his father Norman Smith on June 8, 2003, his mother Viola Jones on May 15, 2005, his step mother Eleanor Smith on June 25, 2009, and his mother-in-law, Mama, Kateryna Hercyk on January 10, 2010.
Jim is survived by his wife Mary of 43 years, daughter Catherine Smith and son-in-law Dr. Joshua Lerner; sister Joyce Faiz and her daughters Marisa Faiz and Heddy Faiz and husband Kevin McKinney. Stepfather Jack Jones, stepbrother Paul Childs and his wife Berit Schumann, stepsisters Jamie Childs and her husband Cliff Shilling and Leslie Childs and her husband Peter Collora, and their families. Also, sister-in-law Anna Henley and husband Steve, brother-in-laws John Hercyk and wife Neta, Steve Hercyk and wife Tanya and all their families. Sister Jo Ann Bales and her family. He is also survived by his goddaughter Stefanie Cotton and her husband Marlon and their daughters Riley and Reese. And of course his beloved dog Bogart.
The funeral service will be officiated by Father John O’Neill and be held on Saturday, March 14 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at St John Before The Latin Gate Catholic Church at 715 South Johnstone Avenue in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at pancan.org/donate.
Our lives will never be the same, but we will always remember how caring and devoted he was as a husband and father. The people we lose never leave us; they live on in our hearts and minds forever. We hope that those who knew Jim continue to cherish and share their memories of him.
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