Alva Review-Courier -

Eric Smith, 54 year-old Freedom, Oklahoma, resident passed away Friday, August 11, 2023, in Oklahoma City. A graveside memorial service will be held at 4 p.m., Friday, September 22, 2023, in the Freedom Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of the Billings Funeral Home.

Eric James Smith was born November 1, 1968, in Woodward, Oklahoma, to Gunter and Donna (Powers) Smith. He was the youngest of three sons. He grew up in Freedom, Oklahoma, where he attended grade school and junior high school. He graduated from Metro Christian Academy High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1987. He later attended Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor's degree in business administration. He moved to Carthage, Mississippi, where he worked for Choctaw Maid Farms as a production supervisor, coordinating with producers who raised poultry for the company. He was united in marriage to Vickie Ingram. To this union, one daughter, JoAnna Rae Smith, was born.

Eric moved back to Freedom in 2008 and worked as a teller and in frontline operations for Freedom State Bank, where he established many close friends and acquaintances with his witty and joking personality.

Eric was seriously injured in a car accident in 2014 that left him physically disabled. He continued to enjoy cooking, fishing at the ranch, and watching sports on television, especially his beloved Oklahoma State Cowboys. Most of all, he enjoyed matching wits with his lifelong best friend, Nelson Kornele.

Eric is survived by his daughter, JoAnna Smith, and his grandson, Brantley James Smith, of Pearl, Mississippi; two brothers, Brett and wife Terry of Freedom, and Skylar Smith of Necedah, Wisconsin; ten nephews, seven nieces and many cousins.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Donna (Powers) Smith of Freedom; his father, Gunter Smith, formerly of Freedom; his grandparents, James G. "Jim" and JoAnna Powers of Woodward; Raymond and Margaret Smith of Stillwater; and a great nephew, Sam van Eeghen.

Remembrances may be shared online at http://www.billingsfuneralhomewoodward.com.