Broadus Henry Smith

        Broadus “Henry” Smith breathed his last breath on December 15, 2025 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Born in Augusta, GA December 3, 1944, he was the younger son of Warren Kirkland Smith and Dorothea Cato Smith. Henry was raised on the family farm in Springfield, SC and attended Wofford College and North Greenville Junior College then graduated from Erskine College in 1966. At Erskine he met Betty Anne Miller, the love of his life, and was instantly smitten with her energetic spirit and her East Tennessee accent.

        He served in an Army Intelligence Reserve Unit in Aiken, SC for six years and began his career as an IRS Field Auditor in 1966. In January 1968 he and Betty Anne married and made their home in Florence, SC, where he worked as an accountant until his retirement in 2000. He was an active member of John Calvin Presbyterian Church where he served as an Elder and choir member and enjoyed helping in the kitchen and spinning out one-liners.

        While he left the family farm when he entered college, the farm stayed with him in his love for the natural world. He spent many happy hours propagating plants, taking long walks and bike rides with Betty Anne, and endlessly hunting for sharks’ teeth at his beloved Edisto Beach. They also enjoyed many years of travel to places far and near. He could connect almost any occasion to pop music lyrics and often broke out in song in his lovely baritone voice.

        For the past seven years he lived at The Manor in Florence, where he was known by many for his kindness, jokes, and smiles until the end of his life. In the last several years, he told Betty Anne regularly that he loved her and expressed how fortunate they were. He often thanked his caregivers, and when the words didn’t come, he expressed his humor through his Donald Duck impression, honed over a lifetime.

        He is survived by his wife Betty Anne, son Michael Henry Smith and wife Jessica of Savannah, GA and daughter Emily Suzanne Smith Pearce and husband Todd of Charlotte, NC, in-laws Robin Miller (Lynne Turner), Henry Miller (Terry), Nancy Pollard (Ed), Nancy Smith as well as five grandchildren: Mira Pearce, Lucas Pearce, Caleb Smith, Brennan Smith and Ellott Smith and ten nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his parents and brother Dr. Warren Smith.

        A Celebration of Life will be held at the Manor Chapel at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5, 2026 where the family will receive visitors one hour prior to the service beginning at 1:00 p.m. His cremains will be buried at Old Purity Cemetery in Chester, SC at a later date. The family thanks the many staff members at The Manor who assisted in Henry’s care over the last seven years.

        In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Lighthouse Ministries, PO Box 6801, Florence, SC 29502 (lighthouse@lighthouseflorence.org), Thornwell Home for Children, 302 South Broad Street, Clinton, SC 29325 (thornwell.org) or John Calvin Presbyterian Church, 2000 Marsh Avenue, Florence, SC 29505 (johncalvinflorence.org).

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