Beloved husband, father, Vietnam Veteran, radiographer, cowboy. Murdered in 1991 in a motel room by E. A. Broxton, TDCJ #999044, convicted serial killer, who is currently on death row. We have been waiting 32 years for justice and will never see it. I have left the State of Texas forever because it refuses to set an execution date. Broxton's rights supersede those whose lives he took. He remains unrepentant. He is a monster.
Larry had been a truckdriver for many years. He was a maintenance mechanic for General Packaging in Houston, then was promoted to sales. When we married and moved to Baytown he went to work for Brown & Root thanks to Charles Duke, a family friend. After 6 years he was laid off and went back to Lee College where he studied radiography. His first job was in Puerto Rico and we looked forward to him traveling for his job and many new experiences.
Larry was a kind man, a bit of a tease, and an excellent dancer. He loved Star Trek as much as I did and we kept and rode horses together. He was all cowboy.
He had a son, Hascal Eugene Smith, who passed away at the age of 27 in 2009. He has a daughter, Michelle Elaine Booth from a previous marriage, and our daughter is Robin Denise Smith. Other family members: birth mother, Mamie Howard Smith, stepmother Winnie Wilson Smith, father, Alfred Eugene Smith, brothers, Jack Smith, David Smith {8/14/51-7/3/2016}, step-brother James Smith {deceased}, step-sister Darlene Bryan, and half-brother, Ralph Smith.
He served in Vietnam: SP5 Larry Wayne Smith, US Army, Co.A, 577th Engineers - Tuy Hoa 11/1966-2/1969.
Looking back on the memory of the dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
Holding you I held everything for a moment weren't you the king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey, who's to say you know I might have changed it all
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could of missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
- Garth Brooks
- - - - - - - - - - - -
A story about the adventures of Larry's veteran's tombstone plaque - may no other widow of a veteran ever have to go through this!
I ordered the bronze memorial plaque through the Veteran's Administration some weeks after Larry's death in 1991. The plaque never arrived at my home. After over a year of searching, I finally found it at the home of an elderly board member of Hill of Rest Assn. Cemetery; I went to her home to retrieve it. She had never notified me in all that time but to be fair, she was elderly and perhaps she could not locate me. Then I learned that the mausoleum where Larry is buried will not allow the plaque to be set against the wall, so I arranged to have it mounted on a granite base by Cedar Bayou Cemetery Assn. and placed by my parents' graves at Hill of Rest Cemetery. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, they placed it outside our plot where it stayed for 11 years. After my father died and was buried in the last full grave on our plot, the cemetery transferred the plaque, by my request, to the veteran's section of Memorial Gardens on a free area of easement (a gracious gesture by the cemetery since I could not afford an empty plot nor would they allow me to buy one). I wanted his plaque near his grave because he was so proud of his service in Vietnam. Someone complained about the plaque being too near their buried loved one, so the mounted plaque was moved to the warehouse nearby. Meanwhile I decided to place it back at Hill of Rest where I verified that there was just enough space to place it by my mother's cremains. I went to retrieve the plaque and found that Earthman Memorial Gardens had HAD LOST THE PLAQUE. {How do you lose a 100-lb. granite-and-bronze plaque with a soldier's name on it?! I suspect it was taken off the granite base and sold for drug money at one of the many local scrap metal shops. This is what happened to my parents' bronze flower urns - but that's another story.}
Earthman ordered a replacement, saving me paperwork and red tape (although the replacement is not top quality as was the original; I suspect it is a cheap copy, not obtained through the Veteran's Administration.)
My son, daughter and I set the stone ourselves on our own cemetery plot. We trusted no one else to do it.
So ends the 15-year odyssey of the tombstone of Larry Wayne Smith; his U. S. Army veteran's marker is at Hill of Rest as a cenotaph, plot D 105 H. He deserved it - he got it.
I buried my son's cremains above it when he passed in 2009.
Larry had been a truckdriver for many years. He was a maintenance mechanic for General Packaging in Houston, then was promoted to sales. When we married and moved to Baytown he went to work for Brown & Root thanks to Charles Duke, a family friend. After 6 years he was laid off and went back to Lee College where he studied radiography. His first job was in Puerto Rico and we looked forward to him traveling for his job and many new experiences.
Larry was a kind man, a bit of a tease, and an excellent dancer. He loved Star Trek as much as I did and we kept and rode horses together. He was all cowboy.
He had a son, Hascal Eugene Smith, who passed away at the age of 27 in 2009. He has a daughter, Michelle Elaine Booth from a previous marriage, and our daughter is Robin Denise Smith. Other family members: birth mother, Mamie Howard Smith, stepmother Winnie Wilson Smith, father, Alfred Eugene Smith, brothers, Jack Smith, David Smith {8/14/51-7/3/2016}, step-brother James Smith {deceased}, step-sister Darlene Bryan, and half-brother, Ralph Smith.
He served in Vietnam: SP5 Larry Wayne Smith, US Army, Co.A, 577th Engineers - Tuy Hoa 11/1966-2/1969.
Looking back on the memory of the dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
Holding you I held everything for a moment weren't you the king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey, who's to say you know I might have changed it all
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could of missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
- Garth Brooks
- - - - - - - - - - - -
A story about the adventures of Larry's veteran's tombstone plaque - may no other widow of a veteran ever have to go through this!
I ordered the bronze memorial plaque through the Veteran's Administration some weeks after Larry's death in 1991. The plaque never arrived at my home. After over a year of searching, I finally found it at the home of an elderly board member of Hill of Rest Assn. Cemetery; I went to her home to retrieve it. She had never notified me in all that time but to be fair, she was elderly and perhaps she could not locate me. Then I learned that the mausoleum where Larry is buried will not allow the plaque to be set against the wall, so I arranged to have it mounted on a granite base by Cedar Bayou Cemetery Assn. and placed by my parents' graves at Hill of Rest Cemetery. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, they placed it outside our plot where it stayed for 11 years. After my father died and was buried in the last full grave on our plot, the cemetery transferred the plaque, by my request, to the veteran's section of Memorial Gardens on a free area of easement (a gracious gesture by the cemetery since I could not afford an empty plot nor would they allow me to buy one). I wanted his plaque near his grave because he was so proud of his service in Vietnam. Someone complained about the plaque being too near their buried loved one, so the mounted plaque was moved to the warehouse nearby. Meanwhile I decided to place it back at Hill of Rest where I verified that there was just enough space to place it by my mother's cremains. I went to retrieve the plaque and found that Earthman Memorial Gardens had HAD LOST THE PLAQUE. {How do you lose a 100-lb. granite-and-bronze plaque with a soldier's name on it?! I suspect it was taken off the granite base and sold for drug money at one of the many local scrap metal shops. This is what happened to my parents' bronze flower urns - but that's another story.}
Earthman ordered a replacement, saving me paperwork and red tape (although the replacement is not top quality as was the original; I suspect it is a cheap copy, not obtained through the Veteran's Administration.)
My son, daughter and I set the stone ourselves on our own cemetery plot. We trusted no one else to do it.
So ends the 15-year odyssey of the tombstone of Larry Wayne Smith; his U. S. Army veteran's marker is at Hill of Rest as a cenotaph, plot D 105 H. He deserved it - he got it.
I buried my son's cremains above it when he passed in 2009.
Beloved husband, father, Vietnam Veteran, radiographer, cowboy. Murdered in 1991 in a motel room by E. A. Broxton, TDCJ #999044, convicted serial killer, who is currently on death row. We have been waiting 32 years for justice and will never see it. I have left the State of Texas forever because it refuses to set an execution date. Broxton's rights supersede those whose lives he took. He remains unrepentant. He is a monster.
Larry had been a truckdriver for many years. He was a maintenance mechanic for General Packaging in Houston, then was promoted to sales. When we married and moved to Baytown he went to work for Brown & Root thanks to Charles Duke, a family friend. After 6 years he was laid off and went back to Lee College where he studied radiography. His first job was in Puerto Rico and we looked forward to him traveling for his job and many new experiences.
Larry was a kind man, a bit of a tease, and an excellent dancer. He loved Star Trek as much as I did and we kept and rode horses together. He was all cowboy.
He had a son, Hascal Eugene Smith, who passed away at the age of 27 in 2009. He has a daughter, Michelle Elaine Booth from a previous marriage, and our daughter is Robin Denise Smith. Other family members: birth mother, Mamie Howard Smith, stepmother Winnie Wilson Smith, father, Alfred Eugene Smith, brothers, Jack Smith, David Smith {8/14/51-7/3/2016}, step-brother James Smith {deceased}, step-sister Darlene Bryan, and half-brother, Ralph Smith.
He served in Vietnam: SP5 Larry Wayne Smith, US Army, Co.A, 577th Engineers - Tuy Hoa 11/1966-2/1969.
Looking back on the memory of the dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
Holding you I held everything for a moment weren't you the king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey, who's to say you know I might have changed it all
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could of missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
- Garth Brooks
- - - - - - - - - - - -
A story about the adventures of Larry's veteran's tombstone plaque - may no other widow of a veteran ever have to go through this!
I ordered the bronze memorial plaque through the Veteran's Administration some weeks after Larry's death in 1991. The plaque never arrived at my home. After over a year of searching, I finally found it at the home of an elderly board member of Hill of Rest Assn. Cemetery; I went to her home to retrieve it. She had never notified me in all that time but to be fair, she was elderly and perhaps she could not locate me. Then I learned that the mausoleum where Larry is buried will not allow the plaque to be set against the wall, so I arranged to have it mounted on a granite base by Cedar Bayou Cemetery Assn. and placed by my parents' graves at Hill of Rest Cemetery. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, they placed it outside our plot where it stayed for 11 years. After my father died and was buried in the last full grave on our plot, the cemetery transferred the plaque, by my request, to the veteran's section of Memorial Gardens on a free area of easement (a gracious gesture by the cemetery since I could not afford an empty plot nor would they allow me to buy one). I wanted his plaque near his grave because he was so proud of his service in Vietnam. Someone complained about the plaque being too near their buried loved one, so the mounted plaque was moved to the warehouse nearby. Meanwhile I decided to place it back at Hill of Rest where I verified that there was just enough space to place it by my mother's cremains. I went to retrieve the plaque and found that Earthman Memorial Gardens had HAD LOST THE PLAQUE. {How do you lose a 100-lb. granite-and-bronze plaque with a soldier's name on it?! I suspect it was taken off the granite base and sold for drug money at one of the many local scrap metal shops. This is what happened to my parents' bronze flower urns - but that's another story.}
Earthman ordered a replacement, saving me paperwork and red tape (although the replacement is not top quality as was the original; I suspect it is a cheap copy, not obtained through the Veteran's Administration.)
My son, daughter and I set the stone ourselves on our own cemetery plot. We trusted no one else to do it.
So ends the 15-year odyssey of the tombstone of Larry Wayne Smith; his U. S. Army veteran's marker is at Hill of Rest as a cenotaph, plot D 105 H. He deserved it - he got it.
I buried my son's cremains above it when he passed in 2009.
Larry had been a truckdriver for many years. He was a maintenance mechanic for General Packaging in Houston, then was promoted to sales. When we married and moved to Baytown he went to work for Brown & Root thanks to Charles Duke, a family friend. After 6 years he was laid off and went back to Lee College where he studied radiography. His first job was in Puerto Rico and we looked forward to him traveling for his job and many new experiences.
Larry was a kind man, a bit of a tease, and an excellent dancer. He loved Star Trek as much as I did and we kept and rode horses together. He was all cowboy.
He had a son, Hascal Eugene Smith, who passed away at the age of 27 in 2009. He has a daughter, Michelle Elaine Booth from a previous marriage, and our daughter is Robin Denise Smith. Other family members: birth mother, Mamie Howard Smith, stepmother Winnie Wilson Smith, father, Alfred Eugene Smith, brothers, Jack Smith, David Smith {8/14/51-7/3/2016}, step-brother James Smith {deceased}, step-sister Darlene Bryan, and half-brother, Ralph Smith.
He served in Vietnam: SP5 Larry Wayne Smith, US Army, Co.A, 577th Engineers - Tuy Hoa 11/1966-2/1969.
Looking back on the memory of the dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
Holding you I held everything for a moment weren't you the king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey, who's to say you know I might have changed it all
And now I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could of missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
- Garth Brooks
- - - - - - - - - - - -
A story about the adventures of Larry's veteran's tombstone plaque - may no other widow of a veteran ever have to go through this!
I ordered the bronze memorial plaque through the Veteran's Administration some weeks after Larry's death in 1991. The plaque never arrived at my home. After over a year of searching, I finally found it at the home of an elderly board member of Hill of Rest Assn. Cemetery; I went to her home to retrieve it. She had never notified me in all that time but to be fair, she was elderly and perhaps she could not locate me. Then I learned that the mausoleum where Larry is buried will not allow the plaque to be set against the wall, so I arranged to have it mounted on a granite base by Cedar Bayou Cemetery Assn. and placed by my parents' graves at Hill of Rest Cemetery. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, they placed it outside our plot where it stayed for 11 years. After my father died and was buried in the last full grave on our plot, the cemetery transferred the plaque, by my request, to the veteran's section of Memorial Gardens on a free area of easement (a gracious gesture by the cemetery since I could not afford an empty plot nor would they allow me to buy one). I wanted his plaque near his grave because he was so proud of his service in Vietnam. Someone complained about the plaque being too near their buried loved one, so the mounted plaque was moved to the warehouse nearby. Meanwhile I decided to place it back at Hill of Rest where I verified that there was just enough space to place it by my mother's cremains. I went to retrieve the plaque and found that Earthman Memorial Gardens had HAD LOST THE PLAQUE. {How do you lose a 100-lb. granite-and-bronze plaque with a soldier's name on it?! I suspect it was taken off the granite base and sold for drug money at one of the many local scrap metal shops. This is what happened to my parents' bronze flower urns - but that's another story.}
Earthman ordered a replacement, saving me paperwork and red tape (although the replacement is not top quality as was the original; I suspect it is a cheap copy, not obtained through the Veteran's Administration.)
My son, daughter and I set the stone ourselves on our own cemetery plot. We trusted no one else to do it.
So ends the 15-year odyssey of the tombstone of Larry Wayne Smith; his U. S. Army veteran's marker is at Hill of Rest as a cenotaph, plot D 105 H. He deserved it - he got it.
I buried my son's cremains above it when he passed in 2009.
