Mr. Smoot, who died in July at the age of 77, had been a member of Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, at 10 Diamond Ave., for a quarter of a century.
Mr. Smoot spent most of his life serving in the U.S. Air Force, and became active in the church community after retirement from military life.
“Dad had suffered from high blood pressure and arthritis, and after some serious complications with his knee he had to have his left leg amputated,” daughter Nicole Smoot-Miller said.
“But that didn’t slow him down. He was still able to drive and tend to his church and charitable works.”
She said she once asked him what kept him going.
He replied, “I’ve got to serve God and do for others while I can.”
The daughter said that for about two months before her father died, he “seemed to have some kind of intuition that he was going home to be with God. He suddenly picked out his casket and planned his own funeral service,” she said. “And one night he told me, ‘You know, all of us old timers are getting out (of) the way now.’ ”
Smoot-Miller said her father purchased new carpeting in their home, a flat-screen television set, and remodeled the family patio.
“He said he wanted his wife and family to be comfortable when he left this life,” she said.
He also took a special interest in a grandson, 10-year-old Tyheed James Smoot-Miller, and helped the young man prepare for his baptism day, the first Sunday in August, and presented the boy with a Bible.
Mr. Smoot also bought himself a new suit of clothes — a dark suit with a matching tie — and announced to his family that it was the suit he wished to be buried in.
“Then on Tuesday, July 28, my father decided to go to a special program for the church laymen organization. It was held at the Zion Hill Baptist Church (1900 E. Third St.), and as always, he drove himself there,” Smoot-Miller said.
She added, “Whenever there was a service he would go, even if he was not feeling well. You would see him leading a song, reading a scripture, or giving a prayer.
“On this night my father told those at the prayer service how pleased he was that his wife’s medical tests had come back OK,” the daughter said. “He passed the word to those sitting near him that he was so happy that God had blessed him all these years.”
At one point in the service her father stood up on his one leg, and leaned on the back of the church bench in front of him and began singing a solo rendition of the gospel anthem “Amazing Grace.”
“My father sang like he had never sung before, those around him told me. He sang so well that some people were sitting on the edge of their seat. Some stood up. There was a heavenly quality. It was like an angel singing.”
The song completed, she said, he sat down. Then he was heard saying, “Church ... I got to go. I’m leaving this place.”
Then, his daughter said, “he leaned his head back and at that moment went to be with God.”
Fellow worshipers tried to revive him and called 911 for emergency help. Paramedics took him to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a massive heart attack.
According to his daughter, “My father seemed to know it was coming, and he had his house in order. He had said his last prayer. He had sung his last song. He was ready to meet his God in heaven.”
Dale Huffman wants your suggestions and story ideas. He’d like to share a story about you, your family, or a friend. This column is for you. Send e-mail to dhuffman@DaytonDailyNews.com or write to Dale at 1611 S. Main St. Dayton, OH 45409. Fax: (937) 225-2489. Phone: (937) 225-2272.
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