Robert Palmer Smith's Obituary
Robert Palmer Smith, 67, of Memphis, Tennessee, died on February 19, 2015 after a long battle with cancer. He was born on January 9, 1948 to the late Virginia Kimbrell Smith and Joseph Wilson Smith. He graduated from Whitehaven High School in 1967 and Memphis State University in 1972 where he had successful football careers. The highlights of his playing career included playing for Coach Elmer Ray at Whitehaven and Coach Billy “Spook” Murphy at Memphis. He had a successful business career in pharmaceutical sales and retired from Pfizer Inc. He is survived by his sister, Barbara Smith Roberts (Frank) and his 3 children – Brian Palmer Smith of Memphis; Sarah Virginia Smith of Nashville; and Emily Smith Francis (David) of Starkville, MS; and his 2 grandchildren, Lucy Jean Francis and Walter Kelly Francis. He is also survived by Brian, Sarah and Emily’s mother, Teresa Porter Smith. The family will receive friends at Memorial Park Funeral Home at 5668 Poplar Ave. in Memphis on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 for Visitation from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. followed by a Funeral Service at 1:00 p.m. The family will have a private internment service immediately following the Funeral Service. The family requests that memorials be sent to The West Clinic’s Wings Cancer Foundation (901) 322-2984 or the Tiger Scholarship Fund at the University of Memphis (901) 678-2338.
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