Ernest L. Smith, aged 96 years, was born Nov. 3rd, 1923 in Halstead, KS and passed away in Wichita on July 5, 2020 due to natural causes. Ernie graduated from North High School Wichita in 1941. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on Dec. 7, 1942. He was deployed to the Eighth Air Force in East Anglia, England and flew as radio operator/aerial gunner on bombing missions over Europe in B-24s. His plane was shot down and he was captured in Belgium May 1944 and sent to a POW Camp near Gdansk, Poland. He was liberated in May 1945.
Ernie received a BA from Wichita University in 1950. Ernest Smith, M. Ed. taught school for 28 years in Kansas, the last of which were at Maize High School where he taught English, French and German. He also directed school plays and helped coach the sports teams.
Ernie served in the Air National Guard for 26 years at McConnell AFB. He rose to Senior Master Sergeant and retired in 1983. He spent summers traveling with his wife, Edith; enjoyed laying brick in Wichita; and assisted in coaching sports teams for his step-grandchildren Troy, James, Joel, Cameron and Trenton DeCamp in Greeley, CO, who all survive him and appreciate his instruction and encouragement.
In 1966 Ernie married Edith DeCamp, who passed away in 2009. His stepson, Dennis DeCamp, passed away in 2012. His sister, Regina Littlefield, brothers William Smith and Allan Smith have passed away. He is survived by his stepdaughter, Cynthia DeCamp, of Atlanta, GA, by his sister, Melba Junker, of Charlotte, NC and his nieces Julie Pasteur of Manitou Springs, CO, and Janet Hilgenfeld of Wichita, KS.
Mr. Smith's wishes are that there be no funeral service, and his cremated remains will be scattered in the Flint Hills of Kansas.