My Father's Obituary (uncut)

Eddie Alberto Smitha died of congestive heart failure at his home in Mesquite Tuesday, June 20th, 2006, one day shy of his 68th birthday.

Funeral: 12:00 noon, Monday, June 26, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, 3900 Scruggs Drive, North Richland Hills, followed by interment at Dallas/Fort Worth National Cemetary. Rosary will be at Lucas Funeral Home, on Sunday at 7PM. The address is 1321 Precinct Line Rd, Hurst, TX.

He was born on June 21, 1938, in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, to mother Angelita de Jesus and father Pedro Sanchez Aponte. After his father's death, his mother relocated the family to Indiana, where she met and married Clarence Lee Smitha who loved and adopted her children.

Eddie joined the United States Air Force, served for five years, often in London, England. He was honorably discharged in 1960.

He married Kathleen Ellen Schlieski on September 29th, 1979, and established residence in Mesquite. He worked at the United States Post Office as a mechanic from 1980 to 2003. A strict father and staunch Catholic, he taught his children the values of the Catholic Faith, and was well known as a supporter of the dogmas of the Church.

He was preceded in death by parents, Pedro Sanchez Aponte, Angelita de Jesus Smitha, and adopted father Clarence Smitha.

He is survived by his wife Kathleen, and his three children, daughter Jane Elizabeth and her husband Gilbert Vidal, of Dallas; son Edward Anthony Smitha, of Herndon, Virginia; and daughter Elizabeth Ann and her husband, James Freiberg, of Mesquite. He is also survived by his brothers Nelson Eddie Smitha and his wife Lupe, San Antonio; and Ralph Edward Smitha, Valparaiso, Florida; his sisters Mary Jane Happek and her husband Hans, Alburquerque, New Mexico; and Carmen Gaddy and her husband Barry, Berryville, Virginia; three grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Building fund, or the charity of your choice.