“We are both really proud of this airport. That’s why we do this. We love this airport and we want to keep this going,” Mike Smith said in 2017, as he prepared to retire and hand over the Poplar Bluff airport to a new director, while still planning to remain active with the facility he had been involved with for more than 30 years.
Smith, 73, died at 3:10 a.m. Tuesday in Florida. As word of Smith’s death spread across the community, everyone shared memories of his legacy as smiling, pleasant and someone who loved Poplar Bluff and the people in the area.
Smith was a Poplar Bluff City Council member from 2003-2008 and airport manager from 2006-2017. He and his family had owned a variety of local businesses.
His widow Billie Smith said, “They all loved him. He was not selfish at all. He was so gentle. I love the person he was. I kept praying for a miracle and realized today (Wednesday) my miracle was he went in peace. He has no pain.”
Friends recall Smith’s dad owned Jack Smith’s 66 Station on the east side for several years in the 60s and 70s and Jack Smith Auto Sales, which the younger Smith helped run.
Smith also ran the Cotton Bowl Bowling Alley and Restaurant in the Mansion Mall Shopping Center.
Former Poplar Bluff Police Officer Jeff Shackelford recalled Smith was “more family. My father, Butch Shackelford, who was in the car business on the east side his whole life, and Smith were first cousins.
“He was always my Uncle Mike to me,” Shackelford said. “He was involved in my life and was a part of my life growing up. Him and dad were best friends.”
Shackelford shared his dad passed away three years ago from the same esophageal cancer Mike had.
“Mike really went the same way, which is really weird because they both neither ever smoked,” Shackelford said.
Shackelford remembered as a “kid looking up to Uncle Mike because he was the cool uncle. He liked old cars. He was just amazing. He was always a nice guy. I never ever saw that man upset. He was always calm, cool and collected.”
While Shackelford reminisced about his “cool” uncle, present airport manager Gary Pride remembered, “Mike was passionate about the Poplar Bluff community and always trying to do what he could to make things better. As airport manager, he understood the economic significance of how the airport is necessary for the region to grow. He always greeted you with a smile and a very pleasant person to have known.”
Upon Smith’s retirement in 2017, his dedication was credited with helping the airport complete a $400,000 upgrade to the runway lights, 90% of which was paid for with grant money.
“The airport has seen definite improvement in efficiency and operations since Mike has been there,” Matt Richardson, then chairman of the Municipal Airport Development Board, said at the time. “We’ve had a number of capital improvements.”
As of 2017, Smith had been active at the airport for more than 30 years and planned to continue working with the airport development board.
In addition to the runway lighting project, there had been runway improvements and construction of a fuel island, as well as two jet hangars. Air Evac was able to locate a base at the airport because at that time of the jet hangars, Richardson said.
His calm professional manner is remembered by many.
Retired Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny H. Whiteley said, “I had the pleasure to have known him for 40 plus years as a real friend. He was such a great guy and will be missed by many. His days in business with his dad at Jack Smith Auto Sales on the east side, his days on the city council, and, as PB Airport Manager, he always possessed the calm professional manner that made him such a success in life. A man like him is far and few between. God bless him, his family and many friends.”
“Mike Smith served the citizens of Poplar Bluff in a variety of ways over the years,” Poplar Bluff City Manager Matt Winters said. “He served on the Poplar Bluff City Council for five years, served as the Poplar Bluff Airport Manager for more than 10 years and served on various city boards. His dedication to public service is a part of his legacy he leaves for others.”
City councilman and former city manager Matt Massingham recalled, “Mike was one of those people you just instantly liked. He never had a bad thing to say, he always had a positive attitude. He loved Poplar Bluff and served it well as a councilman. But, his passion was the Poplar Bluff airport.
“He loved being airport manager and it was very hard for him to retire and it was a loss for the city. He will definitely be missed by the many friends he had made over the years.”
Retired Daily American Republic Publisher Don Schrieber said, “One of the first people I met when I came to Poplar Bluff was Mike Smith. He was the voice of reason while on the city council and also served as airport manager. He was a truly good guy who always had Poplar Bluff interests at heart.”
A friend of Smith’s from childhood, Emmett Morgan, said he and Smith grew up riding their bicycles and go carts together and remained lifetime friends.
“He was more like a brother to me,” Morgan said. “We had plenty of fun times together.”
Morgan said Smith “was a man for everybody. He would do anything for anybody and never asked for anything in return.”
Arrangements for Smith’s services will be provided by Cotrell Willow Ridge Funeral Services. An obituary was not available at press time.
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