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Donald "Don" Lloyd Smith
August 15, 1926 - April 28, 2026
Posted by: Jo Aguirre
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Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home and Cremation Service
Donald "Don" Lloyd Smith
BARTLESVILLE, WASHINGTON CO, OK
(permission granted)
August 15, 1926 - April 28, 2026
Owasso, Oklahoma
Donald Lloyd "Don" Smith passed away on April 28, 2026, at Sequoyah Pointe Living Center in Owasso, OK. He was born on August 15, 1926, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Lloyd and Kathryn (Devero) Smith.
Don attended Tulsa Public Schools and graduated from Central High School in May of 1944. That same year, he answered the call to serve, enlisting in the U.S. Navy in August 1944. After boot camp in San Diego, he trained in electronics at Oklahoma State University and at Navy Pier in Chicago before being assigned to the USS Fred T. Berry (DD-858). He served in the South Pacific and the China Seas and was honorably discharged in June 1946.
After the Navy, Don returned to Oklahoma State University (then Oklahoma A&M) and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in June of 1950. While there, he was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity and was inducted into Eta Kappa Nu and Sigma Tau, an honorary engineering fraternity.
During college, Don met the love of his life, Betty (Merveldt) Smith. They married in September 1950 and shared 52 years of marriage until her passing in April 2003. Together they raised three sons: Mike, Gary, and Mark.
Don began his career with Southwestern Bell (now AT&T) in June 1950. His work took the family to many places, including Tulsa, Nowata, Oklahoma City, Bartlesville, Muskogee, Houston, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, and St. Louis. In Kansas City, he served as Vice President and General Manager for the Missouri Area and was active in civic affairs. Don was president of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, General Chairman of the United Fund, and served on boards such as Children's Hospital, UMKC, Rockhurst College, and Commerce Bank.
Don was a Registered Professional Engineer in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. While living in Washington, D.C., he was a Brookings Institution Fellow.
Outside of work, Don loved fishing, hunting, woodworking projects, and the freedom of flight as an instrument-rated pilot of his own plane.
Don is survived by his sons and daughters in law: Mike and Susan, Gary and Mary, and Mark and Rozann; his seven grandchildren: Nichole, Brad, Tim, Kathryn, Peter, Cherhe, and Sarah; and his eleven great-grandchildren: Madelyn, Vincent, Penelope, Lincoln, Joseph, Loddie, Collin, Lexi, Zoe. Braylon and Abigail.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Don's name to St. John Before the Latin Gate Catholic Church, 715 S. Johnstone Ave, Bartlesville, OK 74003. Arrangements are under the direction of Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home and Cremation Service of downtown Bartlesville. Online condolences may be left at www.honoringmemoriesbartlesville.com.
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