Paul Harvey Smith

Paul Harvey Smith, 89, was born to Harold and Thelma (Hurd) Smith on March 6, 1935, in Cincinnati, OH at Bethesda Hospital when it was on Reading Rd. He lived his entire life in Cincinnati. We say the Ohio River ran through his veins. He graduated in 1952 from Courter Technical High School, which is now the campus of Cincinnati State.

Paul was pre-deceased by his parents and sister, Esther Wilkey (Edward). He is survived by his wife Sherry, daughter Terri Burnside (Dean), grandsons Adam Burnside (Lesley), Kyle Burnside (McKinsay) and great grandchildren Haley, Brooklynn, Ryman and Mayla.

Paul was introduced to church life from birth. His father, a mechanic by trade, preached at small churches and ministries like City Gospel Mission. His mother was the pianist and Paul was the soloist and song leader. Paul developed his strong work ethic at a young age beginning with his paper route. He supported his family through that route during an extended illness of his dad.

In 1953 he began to work for the City of Cincinnati driving the Police Wreaker. His career with the city spanned 40 years. Paul retired from the city in 1993 as the Superintendent of the Municipal Garage. In that position he was responsible for the purchase and maintenance of every piece of equipment that the city owned. That included not only its police cars, boats, and firetrucks, but also the small things like lawn mowers all the way to the large pieces like street sweepers and salt trucks. During the course of his career he worked as a mechanic, on the Safety Lane, at Highway Maintenance, and at the Municipal Garage. An accomplishment that he was very proud of is that when he took over as Superintendent the Municipal Garage was a million dollars in the red and the city was talking of privatizing the operation. He set a goal to not only get the garage out of debt but to put it a million dollars in the black. He succeeded! After retirement, Paul worked another 10 years doing taxes for H&R Block.

From 1957 to 1959 Paul’s city career was put on hold when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. While in basic training in South Carolina he came home on leave to marry Sherry Brown on Monday night, October 21, 1957. This year would have been their 67^th wedding anniversary. He was deployed to Hanau, Germany where he served as a mechanic. Sherry joined him there. Paul & Sherry were very involved in ministry working through the Chapel with the military children and teens. When they returned from Germany in August of 1959, Sherry was expecting their only child, Terri. They always considered their years in Germany to be a highlight of their life.

After returning from Germany, they continued in ministry. Over 65 years, through 3 different churches Paul served in a number of capacities which included song leader, Sunday School Superintendent, deacon, trustee and elder. He especially enjoyed projects, like overseeing the addition of the portico and flagpole outside of Christ Covenant Church. Included in his legacy is the positive impact he had on the people he served.

Paul’s favorite thing to do was productive work, including home and auto repairs and maintenance. He also enjoyed predicting the weather, trains, and NCIS and Lucky Dog television shows. He was very proud of his daughter and husband, his grandsons, and his great grandchildren. He was quick to talk about them and show a picture. His favorite vacation destination was Sarasota, FL. He loved morning walks with Sherry on Siesta Key Beach and evening sunsets with friends and family. Years ago, a resident of the condo where they would stay would play Taps on his harmonica. That began a tradition that changed to playing a US Navy Band version on a cell phone. The tradition continues as his family lovingly plays Taps for Paps whenever and wherever they enjoy a sunset.

Paul enjoyed his last coherent evening at home with his church Community Group. It included one-on-one visiting with him and a group prayer and singing around his bed. We will cherish the memory of that evening.

Revelation 14:13 “…Blessed are those who die in the Lord…, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Paul’s life will be celebrated on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at Christ Covenant Church, 2191 Struble Rd. Cincinnati, 45231. Visitation is at 10:00 am with the service at 11:00 am, followed by a reception in the Fellowship Hall. He will be buried on Monday, June 24^th at 12:00 pm at Arlington Memorial Gardens, 2145 Compton Rd., 45231. If you wish to attend, please join Paul’s family at 11:45 am in the Family Gathering Area to be escorted graveside.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Christ Covenant Church https://christcovcincy.org/giving/, Samaritan’s Purse https://samaritanspurse.org/, or Hospice of Cincinnati https://hospiceofcincinnati.org/.