William Robert Smith, 85, went home to be with the Lord on January 28, 2017, surrounded by his family. Mr. Smith was born on June 23, 1931, to Milo Smith, Sr. and Alma Bedingfield Smith. He graduated from Dublin High School in 1949, Middle Georgia College in 1951, and Mercer University in 1953 before joining the United States Army and serving for 2 years in Germany. Upon his return to Dublin, he joined the family business. Mr. Smith was a member of the First Baptist Church for over 79 years and the chancel choir for over 61 years. However, according to him, his most rewarding job at the church was teaching, for many years, a Sunday Class of 7th and 8th grade boys.

Always involved in community work, he served on the Dublin City Council, as mayor of the city of Dublin, on the Dublin-Laurens Development Authority, and on the board of WINGS. He continued working and witnessing for the Lord until his recent illness. Mr. Smith is survived by his wife of 55 years, Carol Greene Smith; daughter, Abbe Smith Jackson, of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania; daughter and son-in-law, Allison and David Davis, of Dublin; grandchildren, Cameron (Josh) Billingsley, of Orlando, Florida, Meghan (Jeff) Bordelon, of Shreveport, Louisiana, Parker (Ricky) Kight, of Texarkana, Arkansas, Wesley William Davis and Johnathan Walter Davis, of Dublin; great granddaughter, Charlotte Willis, of Orlando, Florida; nephew, David Milo Smith, of Dublin; niece, Norajane Smith, of Dublin, and two great nieces. He was preceded in death by his brother Milo Smith, Jr. and his sister-in-law June Coleman Smith.

Pallbearers will be David Milo Smith, Guy Cochran, Mark Geiger, Al Currie, Derek Harden, Mickey Schuber, Caleb Warnock and Dick Burrell. Honorary pallbearers will be the members of his 7th and 8th grade boy's Sunday School classes, the ROMEO club from McDonald's, Earl Edenfield, Ralph Kelly, Larry Hoffman, Tom Perry, Wayne Christian, Charles Allen, Arnau Bedingfield, Don Vinson, Leon Green, J.Y. Jones, Izell Stephens, Roger Edwards, Frank Brantley, Wash Larson, Gene Mullis, Kevin Taylor, Ben Cochran, Mike Wolf, Junior Scarboro, Gene Scarboro, Hugh Collins, Raymond Harwell, Preston Johnson, Eric Jones, Wiley Shepard, and Gerald Lord. Visitation will be Wednesday, February 1, from 5 until 7 P.M. at Townsend Brothers Funeral Home and Celebration of Life Service will be at 2 P.M. Thursday at First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church Music Ministry at 405 Bellevue Ave., Dublin, GA 31021 or to WINGS at P.O. Box 8277, Dublin, GA 31040.