BROOKHAVEN — The funeral service for the Rev. Howard D. Smith will be 11 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, at Friendship Baptist Church with interment in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday evening, Jan. 19, at Riverwood Family and will resume Saturday at Friendship from 10 a.m. until time of the service.

The Rev. Howard Denman Smith, 81, a resident of Brookhaven and faithful minister of God’s Word, traded his faith for sight, going home to be with his Lord Jan. 16, 2018. He was born in Brookhaven on May 28, 1936, to Denman W. Smith and Ina Mae Smith. The Rev. Smith was a graduate of Loyd Star High School, Mississippi College and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, with a Masters of Divinity. He spent 62 years in ministry including pastoring numerous churches in Mississippi and Louisiana. He served with Mississippi Associational Missions and the Louisiana Baptist Convention Board.

He was a devoted outdoorsman, with a special love for fishing, an avid sports fan and followed his children and grandchildren in all their sports activities. Bro. Howard was a staunch Ole Miss supporter and a loyal West Lincoln Bears fan.

He was a member of Friendship Baptist Church and will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Jewel Smith; and one sister, Linda McKee.

Those left here to cherish his memory are his wife, Betty Lou Smith; son, Bert Smith of Natchez; daughter, Salena Greenlee and husband Mickey of Brookhaven; three grandchildren, Brandon Smith, Ty Smith and Kayla Goodson; and six great-grandchildren; as well as numerous other family members and friends.