Calvin "Jay" George Smith

Calvin (Jay) George Smith Jr. of Dugger, Indiana passed away at Sullivan County Community Hospital on Monday, December 30, 2019. Jay was a lifelong resident of Dugger, Indiana until his most recent stay at Breckenridge Nursing Home in Sullivan, Indiana.

            Born February 22, 1949 in Dugger to Calvin Sr. and Clara (Burnett) Smith, Jay was baptized into the Dugger First Christian Church in 1963 and rededicated in 1971. He was a 1967 graduate of Union High School and earned an associate’s degree in electrical work in 1968. Jay worked as an electrician for Peabody Coal Company until the closure of the Hawthorne Mine in 1999. From 1999 until his retirement in 2012, Jay traveled the country as an electrical safety instructor for Lewellyn Technology, treating his students with his many close calls and extensive knowledge and experience in the field of electrical safety.

            A drag racing enthusiast and avid outdoorsman, Jay enjoyed sharing these passions with his children and grandchildren. Friends and family fondly remember watching him drive his dragster, “Cool Blue,” in the Coal Festival parade, and listening to tales of his many fishing expeditions and Canadian bear hunts. Always ready to help friends and strangers alike, Jay leaves behind the legacy of his fun-loving personality and overwhelming and indiscriminate generosity to those in need.

            Jay was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Mary, two wives, Penny (Hasler) Smith and Margaret (Walton) Smith. He is survived by his two children, Ana (David) Thompson of Brazil, Indiana and Jay (Amanda) Smith of Dugger, nine grandchildren, Skylar (Shane) Lunsford, Adeline Thompson, Brady, Peyton, and Cooper Smith, Coti Stewart, Clay and Ashtyn LaGrand, and Sydney Knowles, and three great-grandchildren Maysen Lunsford and Greyson and Ariana LaGrand. He is also survived by two nieces, Debbie (Eric) Scales, Sue Stahl, nephew, Willis (Katie) Martindale and his first wife, Gayle McCullough.                      

Visitation will be from 4:00 PM until funeral service at 7:00 PM on Saturday, January 4, 2020 at Newkirk’s Funeral Home with Bro. Nick Moore officiating.

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