Wheatland auto body specialist

was on winning race car teams

Funeral service is Tuesday for Cavedo "Smitty" B. Smith of Wheatland. He passed away peacefully at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, in UPMC Horizon, Farrell, with family at his side, after living with metastatic cancer for more than 11 years. He was 71.

Mr. Smith was born Feb. 24, 1944, in Richmond, Va., a son of Lee B. and Hazel P. Talley Smith. He attended school in Cumberland, Va., and served in the Navy.

Smitty was a self-employed auto body specialist and repaired large trucks for more than 45 years. He always had a smile on his face and was quick to tell stories in a way only he could. He also will be remembered by his ability to fix anything for anyone lucky enough to be his friend.

He loved auto racing, a sport he first encountered as a teenager in Richmond. He was a pit crew chief and member of the winning racing teams of Will Thomas and the late Bill Gabrielson and his son, Joe. If you didn't find him at Sharon Speedway working on the weekends, he was cheering for his grandsons at their various sporting events. No one was more passionate about "his boys."

Smitty was a member of Wheatland-Farrell United Methodist Church. He is survived at home by his wife, the former Kimberly K. Klingensmith, whom he married Oct. 19, 1996; two daughters, Sallie M. Brenner and her husband Jeffrey, Brookfield; and Jenny S. Magaw and her husband Scott, Flowery Branch, Ga.; four grandchildren, Jeffrey and Johnathan Brenner; and Taylor and Caleb Magaw; and two sisters, Margaret S. West, Spring Grove, Va.; and Mary Garris, Cumberland, Va.

He also leaves special friends, Pam and Stephen Megyesi, Will and Tammy Thomas, and the Gabrielson Family.

Besides his parents, Smitty was preceded in death by a brother, Richard L. Smith.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society; or to Family Hospice and Palliative Care, 701 N. Hermitage Road, Building No. 1, Suite 5, Hermitage, PA 16148.

SMITH Cavedo "Smitty" B., 71, of Wheatland.

Calling hours: 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday (1-11-16) in J. BRADLEY McGONIGLE FUNERAL HOME and CREMATORY Inc., 1090 E. State St., Sharon.

Service: 10 a.m. Tuesday (1-12- 16) in the funeral home.