Ty D. Smith's Obituary
Tyrone (Ty) D. Smith, age 68, passed away April 18, 2016 after experiencing a stroke.Ty was born July 5, 1947, in Salina, Kansas to Maynard and Jeanette Smith. He grew up in Lindsborg, KS; Marysville, KS; and Junction City, KS. Ty graduated from Junction City High School in 1966. He attended Kansas State University from 1966 to 1967 before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where Ty became a corpsman and attended Doctor’s Assistant school in Guam in 1968 and 1969. During leave, Ty returned to Wichita, KS and married his college sweetheart, Jane Willis, May 10, 1969. In July 1969, Ty was sent to Vietnam to serve with the Marine Corps in Da Nang, Vietnam. After returning to the U.S., Ty and Jane lived in California for a time before returning to Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS, where Ty finished his business degree in 1973.His first job after college was with Kansas Manufacturing, a Combustion Engineering company, in Enterprise, KS. He was later transferred to C-E Invalco, Tulsa, OK in 1976 and subsequently to C-E Natco, Tulsa, OK. In 1978, Ty left Combustion Engineering to work for NTC, Tulsa, OK, and then in 1983 he went to Fred S. James, also in Tulsa. In 1990, Ty began working for Commercial Insurance Services, Oklahoma City, OK, where he specialized in insurance for the trucking business. In 1998, he started his own company, Benchmark Services, Inc., which he sold in 2005. From 2007 to 2016, Ty did consulting work. At the time of his death, he was consulting for Tim Driskill at Insurica/Joe West Company.Ty was preceded in death by his step-father, Wayne Coulter, and his father, Maynard Smith. He is survived by his wife, Jane Smith of Broken Arrow; son, Christopher Smith and wife, Erica, of Yukon, OK; daughter, Charlotte Smith and husband Khris of Howe, OK. He is also survived by his mother, Jeanette Coulter, Seattle, WA; sister Beccy (John) Robertson, Seattle, WA; ten grandchildren, Caleb, Lauren, Kylie, Garrett, Jansen, Mariah, Prairie, Justus, Levi and one soon to come; and many nieces and nephews.Services will be held at St. James United Methodist Church, 5050 E 111th St South, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137, on Saturday, April 23, at 10am.In lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be made to dav.org (Disabled American Veterans) in Ty’s honor.
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