Obituary of Barry Jay Smith

Barry Jay Smith, of Southlake, Texas, went to be with our Lord on December 8, 2020 following a rapid decline in health from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Barry had a heart as big as the Great State of Texas and was the most interesting, funny, friendly, and engaging man we all had the pleasure of knowing; a true Christian who loved the Lord, and a strong Patriot that loved our Country. Barry loved life and lived it fully. He thoroughly enjoyed telling stories, and immensely enjoyed having long conversations about many of his numerous engaging topics, which very often included sports, Formula One or history. If he called you and could not reach you, many of you no doubt had very long voice mail messages left, as he simply loved and enjoyed visiting with people. All that knew him, loved him deeply and they knew he loved them also. He was a wonderful Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother and Friend. He thoroughly enjoyed developing commercial real estate and doing real estate deals. His company, Marathon Commercial, was founded with his wife, Diane in 1993 in Henderson, Nevada. Barry and Diane moved their business to Southlake, TX in 2012. He passionately collected toy soldiers, creating many, many dioramas of various historic battle scenes. He was an avid Formula One fan, and loved watching Longhorn football and all NFL and NBA games. He cherished having many precious, beloved dogs. Prior to his illness he enjoyed golfing, archery, hunting and snorkeling. Barry Jay Smith, of Southlake, Texas, went to be with our Lord on December 8, 2020 following a rapid decline in health from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Barry had a heart as big as the Great State of Texas and was the most interesting, funny, friendly, and engaging man we all had the pleasure of knowing; a true Christian who loved the Lord, and a strong Patriot that loved our Country. Barry loved life and lived it fully. He thoroughly enjoyed telling stories, and immensely enjoyed having long conversations about many of his numerous engaging topics, which very often included sports, Formula One or history. If he called you and could not reach you, many of you no doubt had very long voice mail messages left, as he simply loved and enjoyed visiting with people. All that knew him, loved him deeply and they knew he loved them also. He was a wonderful Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother and Friend. He thoroughly enjoyed developing commercial real estate and doing real estate deals. His company, Marathon Commercial, was founded with his wife, Diane in 1993 in Henderson, Nevada. Barry and Diane moved their business to Southlake, TX in 2012. He passionately collected toy soldiers, creating many, many dioramas of various historic battle scenes. He was an avid Formula One fan, and loved watching Longhorn football and all NFL and NBA games. He cherished having many precious, beloved dogs. Prior to his illness he enjoyed golfing, archery, hunting and snorkeling. Throughout his life Barry was a very active participant in the United Methodist Church. He attended University of Texas at Austin, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX and graduated from St. Edwards University in Austin, TX. He was born on May 17, 1946 in Austin, Texas. Barry’s parents were Jay Frank Smith, Jr. and Anita Ake Smith of Austin Texas. Barry is survived by his loving wife of 27 years, Diane Potier Smith; Carolyn Smith, mother of Barry’s children; sister Nancy Smith Norvell; daughter Jacquelyn Taylor Smith Brown (Taylor), son Bradley Jay Smith (Jay); son-in-law Jeremy Brown (JT), grandson Wyatt Brown, granddaughter Isla Brown; cousins Dr. Donny Smith, Jr. and wife Jody, Jan Smith Raesz and Husband Gene, Barbara Smith Dike and Husband David, Joel Shelley Smith, and wife Cindy; sister-in-law Debbie Potier Draper, brother-in-law Fritz Draper, sister-in-law Joanne Potier, brother-in-law Mike Potier; nieces Nancy Nicole Norvell Duncum, Anita Noelle Norvell, and Samantha Draper Taylor; nephews Brandon, Justin and Christopher Potier, Max and Scott Draper; including many more family members and many friends, which he easily made. Barry is preceded in death by his parents, Jay Frank Smith, Jr. and Anita Ake Smith of Austin, TX. There will be a Celebration of Barry’s Life in 2021 at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake, TX. Date and time to be announced. We will share our “Barryism” stories and no doubt will get some good ones. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to one or two of Barry’s favorite charities, Helping Hand Home for Children in Austin, TX, or St. Jude’s Children Hospital. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. No doubt that when he was received into Heaven, the Lord said “Well done, Good and Faithful Servant”. Matthew 25:21