Jimmy was a company man through and through. When he was hospitalized and had to set a password to control who could call and check on him, he chose "Champion" — that tells you everything you need to know. He could spend hours telling stories about jobs he'd done and customers he'd worked with, and he had a thousand pictures of beautiful work to back it up. He loved what he did, and it showed.

Champion used to throw legendary Christmas parties, big celebrations with serious prizes, including vacations up for grabs. Jimmy and Diana would spend the better part of a week getting ready for that one night. Hair done, nails done, clothes pressed just right. They were a sight. Thank you to Champion and everyone there who loved him.

He came into our family 42 years ago. I brought my kids to his job site so I could pick up a couple weeks of work spotting nail holes and pulling nails. He was gripey even then, and he was only 26, muttering under his breath about kids being underfoot. Then Amber took to him, and that was all it took. She rode on his shoulders half the time until the job was done. Nobody knew then that he'd become such a central part of our family.

When he met Diana, my longtime friend became "Dad," then "Grandpa," then "Gpa." He hauled grandbabies around on his shoulders in the pool the same way he'd carried Amber on job sites. If he ever wondered what he missed by not having children of his own, we filled that space back up, all the way to the top.

The last thing my mother said to me before she passed in 2021 was, "Take care of Jimmy." And that's what we did. When it was time to say goodbye, we held his hand until his last breath, because we love him and everything he meant to this family.

Jimmy is preceded in death by his wife, Diana Bohnenkamp; his mother, Cora; his father, Claudia Faye Peeler; his brother, Jerry Fogle; Jerry (Butch) Fogle; Gadge Stricklen; Jimmy Smith Sr.; and Ty O'Neal.

He is survived by Dana Anderson; grandchildren Amber Stricklen, Jimmy Smith Jr., Marsha Smith, Dustyn Stricklen, Dalton King, and Garrett King; great-grandchildren Shelby Stricklen, Blake and Aimee Stricklen, Kylie Stricklen, Aceson Stricklen, Jax Smith, Jameson Smith, Molly Mae Smith, and Hailey Smith; great-great-grandchildren Harper and Stetson Ladymon; half-sisters and brothers Dianna and Richard Harris of Moore, Becky and Wendell Roberson of Prague, Teresa Fogle of Moore, Amber Able, Eddy Fogle, Daniel Fogle, and Reva Smith; Aunt Geni; and many nieces, nephews, and greats.