Researched by Jaycie Rinehart: Born: March 16, 1922, Leagueville, Henderson County, Texas. Died: July 7, 1958, Bowie, Montague County, Texas. Father: Selman Dewitt Smith. Mother: Ella Mae Hopson. Married: Cora Dee Smtih. Bruce and Cora Smith were the parents of Mere Ella, Philip Bruce, J. B., Bobby Glenn, Virginia Lee, and Michael Dale Smith.
Bruce was born March 16, 1922 in Leagueville, Texas. To Selman Dewitt and Ella Hopson Smith and died July 7, 1958 in Bowie, Texas. He was the 5th child having two older sisters and a brother, a still-born brother, un-named, and two younger brothers and a younger sister. He grew up in the Leagueville community and attended school there until 1934 when the school consolidated with Brownsboro where he completed his education.
Bruce enlisted in the United States Army and served during World War II under Gen. George Patton in the North Africa and Sicily campaigns. He and Cora Dee were married about the time he enlisted in the military and after the war settled in the Brownsboro and Leagueville area.
Bruce was talented in many ways and was a hard worker. He could always find work in construction and farm work and at one time was employed by the Brownsboro School System in the Maintenance Dept.
I was the “baby brother” and he was always special to me; he would always include me in any family activities such as fishing trips with picnics. Everyone in the family considered him the brightest and his personality made him friends wherever he went.
Cora Dee was born September 5, 1924 and died January 1, 1952. She lived in the Delta Community, south of Chandler, Texas and attended Brownsboro schools. I knew of three sisters and a brother and recall her mother lived well up in years. She always seemed content in whatever situation she was in and was happy to be a good mother and wife and really loved her children. Times were hard and very few enjoyed the best of living conditions; Cora Dee had the uncanny ability to do more with less than anyone I ever saw. I was just a teen-ager during her married life and she always treated me like one of her own children. Her untimely death in an automobile accident changed life for everyone in the family, leaving six children without a mother.
I was sixteen at the time and may not have an entirely accurate recollection of the events that followed her death. Her sister, Ima Dell and her husband, drove from California to attend the funeral. Bruce continued living with the children just west of Leagueville, doing the cooking, laundry and other household duties with help from his mother and sisters and others. After some time, his older brother, Selman, took he and the children to El Paso, where he was stationed in the Air Force. This arrangement didn’t work out well over an extended amount of time and Bruce and the children came back to Leagueville to live. One thing that was considered was for different family members to take the children but this would mean they wouldn’t grow up as close brothers and sisters, but no one felt they could handle the responsibility of six children and their own family as well. Some thought was given to placing the children in a Masonic Home for children but for some reason this was not pursued. In retrospect, the children being placed in the State Home in Corsicana, Texas (53 miles away) was, all things considered, the best choice at the time. Much can be said about what could have or should have been done and it’s best to just look on the positive side.
After the children were placed in the home it became increasingly difficult for Bruce to be satisfied anywhere for any length of time, so he moved around quite a lot. When he came to Momma and Daddy’s he was usually allright for a month or two but would get depressed and leave. It was one of those times that he had left that he was killed in Bowie, Texas in a train mishap.
One can certainly understand the children being reluctant to talk about their life with their parents as both died so young and tragically and anyone not having been through what they had to endure can’t relate totally to their feelings. It’s always easier from the outside looking in than to have to live in situations beyond your control, especially at a young age.
It needs to be said that a tendancy to abuse alcohol was a factor in this family’s tragedy and if no other good purpose is served it should be clear that dedication to family requires abstaining from anything that has the potential to bring harm or grief.
It is my desire that these few words can be received in the spirit they are written and might help to bridge a gap in the lives of Bruce and Cora Dee’s descendants.
Compiled by Wayne Smith, 2018.
Bruce was born March 16, 1922 in Leagueville, Texas. To Selman Dewitt and Ella Hopson Smith and died July 7, 1958 in Bowie, Texas. He was the 5th child having two older sisters and a brother, a still-born brother, un-named, and two younger brothers and a younger sister. He grew up in the Leagueville community and attended school there until 1934 when the school consolidated with Brownsboro where he completed his education.
Bruce enlisted in the United States Army and served during World War II under Gen. George Patton in the North Africa and Sicily campaigns. He and Cora Dee were married about the time he enlisted in the military and after the war settled in the Brownsboro and Leagueville area.
Bruce was talented in many ways and was a hard worker. He could always find work in construction and farm work and at one time was employed by the Brownsboro School System in the Maintenance Dept.
I was the “baby brother” and he was always special to me; he would always include me in any family activities such as fishing trips with picnics. Everyone in the family considered him the brightest and his personality made him friends wherever he went.
Cora Dee was born September 5, 1924 and died January 1, 1952. She lived in the Delta Community, south of Chandler, Texas and attended Brownsboro schools. I knew of three sisters and a brother and recall her mother lived well up in years. She always seemed content in whatever situation she was in and was happy to be a good mother and wife and really loved her children. Times were hard and very few enjoyed the best of living conditions; Cora Dee had the uncanny ability to do more with less than anyone I ever saw. I was just a teen-ager during her married life and she always treated me like one of her own children. Her untimely death in an automobile accident changed life for everyone in the family, leaving six children without a mother.
I was sixteen at the time and may not have an entirely accurate recollection of the events that followed her death. Her sister, Ima Dell and her husband, drove from California to attend the funeral. Bruce continued living with the children just west of Leagueville, doing the cooking, laundry and other household duties with help from his mother and sisters and others. After some time, his older brother, Selman, took he and the children to El Paso, where he was stationed in the Air Force. This arrangement didn’t work out well over an extended amount of time and Bruce and the children came back to Leagueville to live. One thing that was considered was for different family members to take the children but this would mean they wouldn’t grow up as close brothers and sisters, but no one felt they could handle the responsibility of six children and their own family as well. Some thought was given to placing the children in a Masonic Home for children but for some reason this was not pursued. In retrospect, the children being placed in the State Home in Corsicana, Texas (53 miles away) was, all things considered, the best choice at the time. Much can be said about what could have or should have been done and it’s best to just look on the positive side.
After the children were placed in the home it became increasingly difficult for Bruce to be satisfied anywhere for any length of time, so he moved around quite a lot. When he came to Momma and Daddy’s he was usually allright for a month or two but would get depressed and leave. It was one of those times that he had left that he was killed in Bowie, Texas in a train mishap.
One can certainly understand the children being reluctant to talk about their life with their parents as both died so young and tragically and anyone not having been through what they had to endure can’t relate totally to their feelings. It’s always easier from the outside looking in than to have to live in situations beyond your control, especially at a young age.
It needs to be said that a tendancy to abuse alcohol was a factor in this family’s tragedy and if no other good purpose is served it should be clear that dedication to family requires abstaining from anything that has the potential to bring harm or grief.
It is my desire that these few words can be received in the spirit they are written and might help to bridge a gap in the lives of Bruce and Cora Dee’s descendants.
Compiled by Wayne Smith, 2018.
Researched by Jaycie Rinehart: Born: March 16, 1922, Leagueville, Henderson County, Texas. Died: July 7, 1958, Bowie, Montague County, Texas. Father: Selman Dewitt Smith. Mother: Ella Mae Hopson. Married: Cora Dee Smtih. Bruce and Cora Smith were the parents of Mere Ella, Philip Bruce, J. B., Bobby Glenn, Virginia Lee, and Michael Dale Smith.
Bruce was born March 16, 1922 in Leagueville, Texas. To Selman Dewitt and Ella Hopson Smith and died July 7, 1958 in Bowie, Texas. He was the 5th child having two older sisters and a brother, a still-born brother, un-named, and two younger brothers and a younger sister. He grew up in the Leagueville community and attended school there until 1934 when the school consolidated with Brownsboro where he completed his education.
Bruce enlisted in the United States Army and served during World War II under Gen. George Patton in the North Africa and Sicily campaigns. He and Cora Dee were married about the time he enlisted in the military and after the war settled in the Brownsboro and Leagueville area.
Bruce was talented in many ways and was a hard worker. He could always find work in construction and farm work and at one time was employed by the Brownsboro School System in the Maintenance Dept.
I was the “baby brother” and he was always special to me; he would always include me in any family activities such as fishing trips with picnics. Everyone in the family considered him the brightest and his personality made him friends wherever he went.
Cora Dee was born September 5, 1924 and died January 1, 1952. She lived in the Delta Community, south of Chandler, Texas and attended Brownsboro schools. I knew of three sisters and a brother and recall her mother lived well up in years. She always seemed content in whatever situation she was in and was happy to be a good mother and wife and really loved her children. Times were hard and very few enjoyed the best of living conditions; Cora Dee had the uncanny ability to do more with less than anyone I ever saw. I was just a teen-ager during her married life and she always treated me like one of her own children. Her untimely death in an automobile accident changed life for everyone in the family, leaving six children without a mother.
I was sixteen at the time and may not have an entirely accurate recollection of the events that followed her death. Her sister, Ima Dell and her husband, drove from California to attend the funeral. Bruce continued living with the children just west of Leagueville, doing the cooking, laundry and other household duties with help from his mother and sisters and others. After some time, his older brother, Selman, took he and the children to El Paso, where he was stationed in the Air Force. This arrangement didn’t work out well over an extended amount of time and Bruce and the children came back to Leagueville to live. One thing that was considered was for different family members to take the children but this would mean they wouldn’t grow up as close brothers and sisters, but no one felt they could handle the responsibility of six children and their own family as well. Some thought was given to placing the children in a Masonic Home for children but for some reason this was not pursued. In retrospect, the children being placed in the State Home in Corsicana, Texas (53 miles away) was, all things considered, the best choice at the time. Much can be said about what could have or should have been done and it’s best to just look on the positive side.
After the children were placed in the home it became increasingly difficult for Bruce to be satisfied anywhere for any length of time, so he moved around quite a lot. When he came to Momma and Daddy’s he was usually allright for a month or two but would get depressed and leave. It was one of those times that he had left that he was killed in Bowie, Texas in a train mishap.
One can certainly understand the children being reluctant to talk about their life with their parents as both died so young and tragically and anyone not having been through what they had to endure can’t relate totally to their feelings. It’s always easier from the outside looking in than to have to live in situations beyond your control, especially at a young age.
It needs to be said that a tendancy to abuse alcohol was a factor in this family’s tragedy and if no other good purpose is served it should be clear that dedication to family requires abstaining from anything that has the potential to bring harm or grief.
It is my desire that these few words can be received in the spirit they are written and might help to bridge a gap in the lives of Bruce and Cora Dee’s descendants.
Compiled by Wayne Smith, 2018.
Bruce was born March 16, 1922 in Leagueville, Texas. To Selman Dewitt and Ella Hopson Smith and died July 7, 1958 in Bowie, Texas. He was the 5th child having two older sisters and a brother, a still-born brother, un-named, and two younger brothers and a younger sister. He grew up in the Leagueville community and attended school there until 1934 when the school consolidated with Brownsboro where he completed his education.
Bruce enlisted in the United States Army and served during World War II under Gen. George Patton in the North Africa and Sicily campaigns. He and Cora Dee were married about the time he enlisted in the military and after the war settled in the Brownsboro and Leagueville area.
Bruce was talented in many ways and was a hard worker. He could always find work in construction and farm work and at one time was employed by the Brownsboro School System in the Maintenance Dept.
I was the “baby brother” and he was always special to me; he would always include me in any family activities such as fishing trips with picnics. Everyone in the family considered him the brightest and his personality made him friends wherever he went.
Cora Dee was born September 5, 1924 and died January 1, 1952. She lived in the Delta Community, south of Chandler, Texas and attended Brownsboro schools. I knew of three sisters and a brother and recall her mother lived well up in years. She always seemed content in whatever situation she was in and was happy to be a good mother and wife and really loved her children. Times were hard and very few enjoyed the best of living conditions; Cora Dee had the uncanny ability to do more with less than anyone I ever saw. I was just a teen-ager during her married life and she always treated me like one of her own children. Her untimely death in an automobile accident changed life for everyone in the family, leaving six children without a mother.
I was sixteen at the time and may not have an entirely accurate recollection of the events that followed her death. Her sister, Ima Dell and her husband, drove from California to attend the funeral. Bruce continued living with the children just west of Leagueville, doing the cooking, laundry and other household duties with help from his mother and sisters and others. After some time, his older brother, Selman, took he and the children to El Paso, where he was stationed in the Air Force. This arrangement didn’t work out well over an extended amount of time and Bruce and the children came back to Leagueville to live. One thing that was considered was for different family members to take the children but this would mean they wouldn’t grow up as close brothers and sisters, but no one felt they could handle the responsibility of six children and their own family as well. Some thought was given to placing the children in a Masonic Home for children but for some reason this was not pursued. In retrospect, the children being placed in the State Home in Corsicana, Texas (53 miles away) was, all things considered, the best choice at the time. Much can be said about what could have or should have been done and it’s best to just look on the positive side.
After the children were placed in the home it became increasingly difficult for Bruce to be satisfied anywhere for any length of time, so he moved around quite a lot. When he came to Momma and Daddy’s he was usually allright for a month or two but would get depressed and leave. It was one of those times that he had left that he was killed in Bowie, Texas in a train mishap.
One can certainly understand the children being reluctant to talk about their life with their parents as both died so young and tragically and anyone not having been through what they had to endure can’t relate totally to their feelings. It’s always easier from the outside looking in than to have to live in situations beyond your control, especially at a young age.
It needs to be said that a tendancy to abuse alcohol was a factor in this family’s tragedy and if no other good purpose is served it should be clear that dedication to family requires abstaining from anything that has the potential to bring harm or grief.
It is my desire that these few words can be received in the spirit they are written and might help to bridge a gap in the lives of Bruce and Cora Dee’s descendants.
Compiled by Wayne Smith, 2018.
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