Biography: Michael Joseph Sutherland Smith of Jonesboro, Arkansas died November 4th, 2024. He was a lifelong resident of Jonesboro. Recently, he had a series of strokes and died in Little Rock at Arkansas Hospice.

Mike was born October 27, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Ann Burns Smith and G. Richard Smith, Sr. He was graduated from Jonesboro High School where he was active in many school plays and musicals. He was active in scouting in his youth and earned his Eagle Scout Award and worked as a staff member a summer scout camp. He was graduated from Arkansas State University. (ASU) where he was very active in the drama department. Later he obtained his Master of Social Work degree from ASU.

Mike was a multi-talented man which led to several vocations/avocations including farming, catering, landscape design, cooking, birdwatching and house restoration. For years, until his health failed him, he was the family resource for where the best fresh local fruit was the be located. He also had numerous specialty dishes he made and distributed to the family which were received joyfully.
He worked for a number of years as the director of Dimensions, a social services agency in Jonesboro. Later, he was the safety supervisor who taught police officers how to correctly install child car seats and sponsored car seat clinics to provide them to new parents for child safety before cars were manufactured to easily accommodate car seats.

He was active in his church, initially First Presbyterian in Jonesboro and later in Magnolia Road Baptist Church where he frequently assisted the minister by reading the scripture for Sunday services.

Mike was devoted to his family. He was the family “historian” who knew and could remember family details and incidents, even compiling a book on the family’s history for five generations. Mike became the self-appointed custodian for many family treasures (mostly furniture) and could recount the family’s history of each piece and usually some story about the item. In his mother’s later years, he was her close companion joining her for dinner most nights and making sure she was able to attend her many activities that were important to her.

He loved Scotland and all things Scottish. He traveled there often for extended solo trips. He reveled in the family associated names and places of Scotland. He even had strong opinions about which sources of Walker’s Shortbread cookies were the freshest and best.

In addition to traveling to several countries, he went to Uganda, twice to do service work with Dwight Jackson and a nonprofit called Bega Qua Bega. He and his mother, Ann Burns Smith, took the first trip to Africa to do this volunteer work. On the second trip they encouraged Rick, Susan and Rose Smith to go with them. Working at the village level surrounded by deep poverty and much love changed all who went.

Mike always had a heart for the poor. He skipped a meal a day for years as a way to remember those who had no food. He allocated his money that might have gone for his lunch, to donate to programs to feed the poor. A family friend recently described Mike very accurately as a “gentle soul”. He will be remembered by many who knew him in this way. He was kind and very thoughtful.

Mike is survived by his brother, G. Richard (Rick) Smith, Jr. His sister-in-law, Susan Sims Smith. His beloved niece Roseann Claire Smith and her son, Desmond Richard Glueck. His cousins Elaine Burns Moctezuma (Pedro), Joseph Stuck Burns, Martha Sanders, Tommy  Taylor, and four cousins once removed.

Instead of flowers, please consider a gift to a charity of your choice, the Arkansas Food Bank, the Arkansas House of Prayer, or Magnolia Road Baptist Church.

A service celebrating and remembering Mike’s life will be at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pierce Chapel, at 3 pm on Saturday, November 16th with a reception immediately following the service. Funeral services are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com