Aug. 6, 1936 May 25, 2026 Richard L. (Dick, Papou) Smith lived a life defined not by titles, accomplishments or years, though he gathered plenty, but by the steady and extraordinary way he loved everyone.
Richard was born Aug. 6, 1936, in Oklahoma City to Pete and Vera Smith. He married the love of his life, Fotini (Fané) Georgiou, on April 17, 1957, beginning a partnership that would span nearly seven decades and become the foundation upon which generations of love would be built.
He attended Oklahoma A&M in Stillwater from August 1954 until May 1956 before joining the United States Air Force. Following his military service, he returned to school in Okmulgee, earning his Radar Technician Certificate in 1961. In the spring of 1962, he began a long and respected career with the Federal Aviation Administration in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In 1966, Richard transferred to Tucumcari, New Mexico, where he maintained a remote FAA radar site atop Mesa Rica, a rugged landscape that suited his quiet strength and self-reliant nature. During his years in New Mexico, he also served with distinction in the New Mexico Mounted Patrol, a division of the New Mexico State Police, ultimately retiring with the rank of Major in 2002.
But if you ask those who knew him best what defined Richard Smith, it would be about the way he showed up for people. Richard made an art form out of loving others. And like any true artist, he never believed the work was finished. Every day was another opportunity to become gentler, wiser, kinder and more present than he had been the day before. He carried within him that rare desire not simply to be loved, but to love better.
He loved Fané with a quiet and unwavering devotion that became the anchor of their family. He loved his children fiercely and faithfully, always trying, even late in life, to guide them, support them and remind them how deeply they mattered to him. He was hard at times, tough, but he always knew when it was time to be a soft place for them to land.
But loving his grandchildren — that was his masterpiece. — his magnum opus.
He paid attention in a world that too often rushes past children without truly seeing them. They called him Papou, Pop for short. He listened. He engaged. Pop understood that every child needed something different, and somehow he always seemed to know exactly what that was. Whether they needed encouragement, patience, laughter, wisdom, a good story, a gentle hand or a firm kick in the pants to set them back on the rails, Pop was there. Not just physically present, but fully invested in who they were becoming. You had to experience it to understand how his cup never ran dry.
Richard and Fané filled their lives with adventure long before such things became fashionable. They traveled extensively with their family in motorhomes before motorhomes were vogue, visiting Civil War battlefields, all of Washington, D.C., and countless national parks across the country. Richard loved the mountains of New Mexico and spent many seasons hunting beneath that high country he cherished so deeply.
After retiring from the FAA in 1997 and relocating to Tryon, Oklahoma, in 2002, Richard continued doing what he had always done: working, serving and loving people. He and Fané once again traveled the country together in their motorhome before Richard eventually drove an 18-wheeler for Baldwin Trucking, with Fané riding shotgun. Truthfully, though, Richard never fully retired. From 2002 until 2026, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Tryon Christian Union Church, where his faith found expression not only in words, but in action, humility and service.
He loved Christmas with family, but his favorite holiday was always the Fourth of July. Pop’s fireworks shows became the stuff of family legend — loud, joyful, over-the-top celebrations that reflected the way he lived his life: generously, enthusiastically and surrounded by the people he loved most.
Richard was preceded in death by his beloved wife Fané Smith and his sister Dorothy June Wells.
He is survived by by his three children, Richard Smith and wife Brenda, VeraNicky Upshaw and husband Mike Upshaw, and MaryLee Meisner and husband J.D. Meisner; grandchildren Randy Richardson, Mike Richardson, Jeremy Upshaw, Carl Smith, Justin Smith, Courtney Smith-Williams and husband Cory, Alexis Upshaw-Kim and husband Jimmy, Alexandra Meisner-Prater and husband Skyler, and Peter Smith; great-grandchildren, Julie Richardson, Evyn Williams, Roland Williams, Wyatt Smith, Eli Smith, Sophia Kim and Jamison Prater; along with extended family members and lifelong friends he adored deeply.
A service celebrating Richard’s life was held Saturday, May 30, at Tryon Christian Union Church, 104 First St., Tryon, Oklahoma. Following the service, he was laid to rest at Carney Cemetery under full military honors.
The measure of a life is often found in what remains after it is gone.
What Richard Smith leaves behind is love — enormous, enduring and alive in every person fortunate enough to have been wrapped inside it.