Birth date: Jan 15, 1947 Death date: May 10, 2023
Leslie A.Z. Smith 76, of Atoka, TN, passed away on May 10, 2023. Leslie A.Z. Smith, fondly known as “Junior” was born on January 15, 1947, in Memphis, TN to A.Z. Smith and Margaret Lucille Smith. He is survived by son, Andrew Sm Read Obituary
I so fondly remember Mr. Smith. He made history real and I, for one, devoured every lesson. Although I pursued a much different educational path, I have loved history since the first day of his class. My sympathy to his family. Michelle Gardner
I recall Les from old West Precinct days with Memphis Police. He was always a great guy to be around and simply happy to be there. He always had a moment to offer a good word or just to talk about battle tanks and such.
I recall when the entire shift was sent to Elvis Presley's funeral and services. On the night of the burial at Forest Hill, Les noticed several visibly upset people at the closed gate on Bellevue. He then drove back to the mausoleum and gathered up as many loose flowers as he could and came back, He then handed out the flowers to the poor souls standing outside the gate. Many of them shouted God Bless You to him, but he remained the same good guy he always was. Somewhere there is a photograph of him handing the flowers out to Elvis' fans. His explanation was that Elvis wouldn't have minded.
I regret to say I lost touch with Les over the years and always regretted it. He was a faithful and loyal friend.
One of the original West C shift, "Coneheads" and he was proud of it. You could count on him in a tight situation and to have your back. I've looked up during a traffic stop to see his squad car nearby as a backup. There are not many like him around and we are all poorer for it. Just a doggone fine man. God Bless You Les. Signal 10 and Signal C!
These are just a few of the photo memories I have of Leslie. There are more where these came from…but I didn’t want to come across as trying to make it all about me. Leslie was always there for me when I needed him. He was very special to me for many reasons.
