Obituaries
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 16, 2008
Harry I. Smith, owner, Smith Furniture
Waco, Texas — Longtime Texas furniture manufacturer Harry I. Smith, who led upholstery producer Smith Furniture Mfg., has died after nearly 10 months of aggressive chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He was 59.
Smith was the third generation of his family to head the manufacturer, which was one of the oldest upholstery producers in Texas before it closed last year after he received his diagnosis.
Smith followed his parents, the late Phil and Fannye Smith, into the furniture industry. He started working in their Waco factory at age 12 making buttons, then returned to the city after graduating from the University of Texas and eventually became owner of Smith Furniture Mfg.
He loved working at the company because he loved the people, his customers and the challenge of creating new sofa products, the family said. Smith also was active in business and philanthropic organizations, and had been president of Southwest Furniture Mfg.
He was with his wife, Diane Smith, and other family members when he died at home. He also is survived by two sons, Scott Smith and Mark Smith, formerly a Smith Furniture executive and now a law student, and a sister.
The family requested that memorial donations be made to Temple Rodef Shalom, 1717 N. New Road, Waco, Texas 76707; the Jewish Community Council of Greater Waco, P.O. Box 8031, Waco, Texas 76714; or the charity of one's choice.
Roger Dennis Norris, veteran Midwest retailer
Hays, Kan. — Roger Dennis Norris, a retailer for 54 years and owner of four furniture stores in Kansas and Nebraska, has died. He was 74.
He owned retailers Keller Furniture in Hays, Garnand Fine Furniture in Garden City, Kan., and Williamson Interiors and a Thomasville Furniture Gallery in Grand Island, Neb. He also had served as a board member of the National Home Furnishings Assn.
"He was really a mentor, a coach, a confidant, an encourager, a counselor, a teacher and a friend. Those just all fit him to a T," said his wife, Patricia.
All of their children — son Rene Norris and daughters Renee Longpine and Ramona James — are involved in the management of the business. Roger Dennis Norris also is survived by two sisters and a grandson.
The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Michael E. DeBakey Heart Institute of Kansas, 2214 Canterbury Drive, Hays, Kan. 67601.
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Obituaries
Mar 16, 2008
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