Hershel D. Smith

Hershel D. Smith was born at Mill Springs, KY, the son of Lee Smith and Erma Lair Smith. He served with the US Army in Germany during WW2 and went with his nationalized National Guard Unit to Korea in 1951. He retired from Buehler Corporation formerly Indiana Gear Works in 1989 after 35 years of service.Hershel married his childhood sweetheart, Eleanor Barnett on October 25, 1947 and fathered three children, a daughter and two sons.He was an artist, expressing his creativity by carving wood. Most of his works included birds or chickens and he was noted by his signature carvings of sheaf of wheat or leaves on almost all his pieces of art. He hand carved several walking canes, decorating then with scenes of nature and accenting them with arrowheads or other pieces found in nature. Some he lovingly lovingly presented as gifts to needy friends to assist them in getting about. His hands were never idle and he could carve a flower or a chicken from a twig quickly and then would present it to a friend, an acquaintance, or even a passer by. He shared his love of nature and his talent for wood carving with everyone he met. At restaurants, he often decorated napkins with country scenes or caricatures of people. His talent poured out almost without effort.He loved music, wildflowers, poetry and spending time with young people, either his own grandchildren or some young people he met at the shopping malls, city parks or church.Hershel could identify every tree in the forest and knew the sound of almost every bird.He was proud of his heritage and proud of his descendants.

Family Tree:
Spouse:	Eleanor Barnett Smith
Children:	Sharon Smith O'Connor Shane Smith Hershel C. Smith
Grandchildren:	Patrick C. Smith Benjamin L. Smith Jordan C. Smith Shenna C. O'Connor Kritzer Cailin M. O'Connor Great Grandchildren Devon M. Evans Ceara M. Kritzer
Parents:	None listed
Siblings:	None listed
Grandparents:	None listed