Obituary - Otto Melvin Smith

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thanks to Kasia Johnson for this item

Long Time Resident of District Dies at Commerce Home

Commerce, Okla. Dec. 31 - Otto Melvin Smith 59 years old, a resident of the Tri-State district most of his life, died at 9:55 o'clock last at his home 127 N. Quincy St. following a long illness. Funeral services will be conducted at 10 o'clock Monday morning at the First Methodist Church. the Rev. W. L. Templin, pastor of the church will officiate. Burial will be in Carterville Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers all of Carterville will be Jim Jackson, John Wilkerson, Ed Campbell, George Martin, L. W. Cochrane and William Carliss; active, Grover Ferguson, Gene Ferguson, Junior White, Bert Dawson, Jim Grimes and Percey Boyd.

Mr. Smith lived in Carterville, Missouri. most of his life coming to Commerce in 1916. He operated the first skip hoister in the Tri-State district when he was employed at the Oronogo Circle. He also worked for many years at the Anna Beaver mine in Cardin, Okla. where he was a master mechanic. Since 1935 he and a son Melvin Smith operated a filling station on Commerce Street.

Surviving are his widow Mrs. Laura Smith, three sons, Otto Smith of Picher, Melvin Smith of Commerce, and Adolph Smith of Los Angeles, four daughters Mrs. Roy Johnson and Mrs. Opal James of Commerce, Mrs. Charles Cartwright of McPherson, Kansas, Mrs. Milton Abrams of Minneapolis, Minn, two sisters, Mrs. John Souter of Carterville, Mrs. Cynthia Moody of Boise, Idaho, and one brother, Jimmie Smith of Joplin, five grandchildren.

(The original article contained an error stating that Otto had a sister Jennie Smith. This was incorrect and should have been a brother Jimmie Smith after whom Jimmie James is named.