My step-father, Onis Smith, crossed over Jordan a little over a week ago. We buried him beside his first wife at the beautiful Maplewood cemetery in his beloved Harrison, Arkansas (he moved to Little Rock for his last quarter-century).
Onis was not only a believer but a devoted and godly man, was very good to my mother the thirteen years he was married to her, and gave of himself totally and freely to his “lately-adopted” family—including me and my family. God be praised for his long and rich and abundantly blessed life. Extremely joyful for his home-going, I am going to miss him deeply.
Over a century old, Onis was truly an amazing man in so many ways. He could play the harmonica—and well—to the end of his life (he could also play the guitar, but eventually his fingers would no longer cooperate). He had the “Midas touch” with plants: they didn’t turn to gold exactly—rather everything he touched turned green! When people use the term “master gardener,” they are talking about Onis. He also knew the Bible inside and out—because he had read and loved and taught and believed and obeyed it to the best of his knowledge all of his long life.
He was among the first electricians in northern Arkansas. He was bringing electricity to businesses and homes throughout northern Arkansas before he even had it at his own house! And three quarters of a century later he still knew as much as (if not more than) the “professionals” of our own day. He always loved to tell the story of how in his forties he was “killed” when he was electrocuted and blown from a utility pole, only to be brought back to life when he struck the pavement below. (He also broke his back in four places and was told he would never walk again—into his nineties he walked at least two miles a day. He was walking six until his doctor told him he was wearing out his joints!)
Among other things, Onis took Latin in high school (he was among the first high school graduates in his area). As he neared the century mark, his mind occasionally got fuzzy on a few things, but he could still say his “amo, amas, amat,” and he could sing “America the Beautiful” entirely in Latin! One more reminder that the things our children are learning today will be with them throughout all their lives and will make of them much of who they are. God guide us wisely as we govern over so much of the input that will shape them—and, to one degree or another, the generations to follow.
Thanks be to God for all the lessons Onis learned and passed along. I will never be the same for the influence he had on me--all of which was packed neatly into the final decade of his life. I pray I will not only live as long but as well for as long, and I pray the final ten of my life will be as productive and life-giving and inspiring.
