When Winston T. Smith ran his concessions stand, things had to be just so. He bought and priced all items and didn’t like to run up debt. He wanted all bills in the register to face the same way, something that amused people such as Wanda Smith, his wife of 52 years.
She had to volunteer if she wanted to spend time with her husband. For 25 years, he ran the concessions stand for the Lilburn Basketball Association, and served as treasurer for the basketball organization, too. He spent hours at the park, stocking and selling refreshments, mingling with kids and adults.
“He was a strict boss,” his wife said. “I had to remind him every now and then that this was volunteer work. It was something he liked and he got to meet a lot of good people, and good people worked in the league.”
On Wednesday, Winston T. Smith, a Loganville resident, suffered another in a series of strokes, underwent surgery and died Saturday at Emory Eastside Hospital. He was 74. A funeral will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in the Lawrenceville chapel of Tim Stewart Funeral Home.
Longevity was Mr. Smith’s strong suit. He worked with the U.S. Forest Service for 42 years, and was a longtime umpire at Lilburn Lions Club Park, a 20-acre complex in Gwinnett County.
“Dad ended up umpiring for 27 years,” said Wendell Smith, a son from Athens. “He was fortunate enough that, when kids who played my age became adults and had children, he ended up umpiring a second generation. He loved the interaction with the kids and parents.”
Four years ago, Mr. Smith had to stop umpiring after a stroke left him legally blind. He wanted to see if he could still call another game, but his vision failed him.
“He took that better than I thought he would,” his wife said.
Mr. Smith grew up in the Harris community of Louisiana. He played basketball in high school, as did his future wife for a rival school. A nature lover, he earned a forestry degree at Louisiana Tech and went to work for the federal government.
His first job was in Winnfield, La., followed by transfers to offices in Tennessee, Texas and Atlanta, arriving at the latter in 1971. He retired in 1999.
When he was declared legally blind, he sat and listened to legal proceedings in Gwinnett County courtrooms for a diversion.
“He would go every week for a couple of days, then it got down to a day or two here and there and finally just once a month to see everybody,” his wife said. “He could take care of himself and could get to where he wanted to go, but things were fuzzy. He couldn’t read the paper, and that was annoying to him.”
Additionall survivors include two other sons, Winston Dewitt Smith of Cleveland and Wayne Smith of Winder; a daughter, Wendi Pitts of Watkinsville; a sister, Anne Hedgecock of Arkansas, and 10 grandchildren.
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