Holmes Nathaniel Smith Jr. was born June 15, 1969, in Columbia, to Frances Elizabeth Smith and the late Master Sgt. Holmes Nathaniel Smith Sr.
He was a proud 1987 graduate of Keenan High School in Columbia. He received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from S.C. State University in Orangeburg in 1995. He was joined Sept. 19, 1998, in holy matrimony to the former Tonia Mallett of Manning. They were blessed with three wonderful boys who love and adore their father.
Holmes Nathaniel Smith Jr. was a member of Greenhill Missionary Baptist Church in Alcolu. He worked in law enforcement for nearly 20 years, serving as a police officer for the city of Manning, as a game warden for the state Department of Natural Resources in Sumter County and as an investigator with the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office.
He worked his final shift Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014, when God called His faithful servant home to receive his reward, for his work on Earth is finished.
Survivors besides his mother of Columbia and his wife of the home include the couple's three sons, Holmes "Smitty" Smith, Joshua Smith and Isaac Smith; a son, Jaden Smith; and Jordan Blandon, for whom he cared as son; a sister, Rhonda (Marcus) Abrams of Columbia ; an aunt, Shirley Smith of Columbia; his father- and mother-in-law, William and Ruth Mallett of Manning; and a number of other friends and family.
Celebratory services for Holmes Nathaniel Smith Jr. will be held 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, 2014, at Bethesda Church of God, 2730 Broad St. in Sumter, with the Rev. Delbert Singleton officiating. Burial will follow in Greenhill Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in Alcolu.
A viewing will be held noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014, at Hayes F. and LaNelle J. Samuels Sr. Memorial Chapel, 114 N. Church St. in Manning. There will no viewing on the day of services.
The family will receive friends at the home of his father- and mother-in-law, William "Bill" and Ruth Mallett, 408 W. Boyce St. in Manning.
These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.
