[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO LOY SMITH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, Tennessee has lost one of its leading 
citizens and a truly great American, Loy Smith. Loy passed away on 
Sunday after suffering a heart attack while working with one of his 
great loves, his horses. He was 68.
  Loy was a longtime close friend of both my late father and me and one 
of our strongest supporters. He served for 14 years as a State 
Representative from our home district in the Tennessee House of 
Representatives.
  He rose to the rank of House Republican leader from 1978 to 1980. He 
then voluntarily left elective office to devote more time to his family 
and his many business interests. He remained active in politics, 
however, always interested in good government and in doing his part.
  He served as Knox County Republican chairman from 1990 to 1992 and 
was one of the finest leaders our party ever had. Loy was active in 
many other aspects of community life, too. He was a deacon of the 
Thorngrove Christian Church and was a past president of the Carter 
Optimist Club.
  He was a member of the Knoxville Elks Lodge, the Odd Fellows, the 
Thorngrove Community Club, the Volunteer Carriage Club, the Sons of the 
Revolution and the Pascal Carter Memorial Park Association.
  His first love was his family, and he is survived by his wife Lonna 
Rhea, his children, daughter Scottie and sons, David, Jim, and Jeff, 
and several in-laws, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
  After his family, his strongest feelings were bound up with the 
Republican Party. He was a very loyal Republican and very conservative 
in his philosophy. He believed very strongly in the things that made 
this Nation great, and he especially believed in our great free 
enterprise system.
  He was a vice president of and worked for the John Bailey Insurance 
Co. for 40 years. He also founded with his sons the Southeast Equipment 
Co. and was the owner of other businesses such as the Kay's Ice Cream 
Shops chain.
  The Tennessee State legislature adopted a resolution Monday praising 
Loy Smith as, quote, ``a man of great wisdom and compassion, earning 
the universal respect and admiration of his peers.''
  State Senator Ben Atchley, a longtime friend and associate of Loy's, 
said this: ``Loy had a strong sense of the situation. He had the wisdom 
of understanding and of understanding the end result. He could get to 
the bottom line in a hurry, and he was a strong force in Republican 
politics.''
  Loy was a graduate of Carter High School. He volunteered to serve as 
a paratrooper in the U.S. Army and then received a business degree from 
the University of Tennessee.
  He was a patriotic man who loved this country. More importantly, Loy 
Smith was simply a good man who helped countless numbers of people. He 
was not famous nationally, I suppose, but he was the type of man who 
has made this Nation the great Nation that it is today.
  He did not live his life on the sidelines. He was in the arena in 
every possible way, and he truly made his mark.
  Loy Smith will be missed most especially by his family and also by me 
and many, many others, I would say perhaps thousands of others. If this 
Nation had more people like Loy Smith, it would be a much better and 
kinder and stronger place. He lived his life to the fullest, and he 
served his country well.

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