SMITH, III, Samuel Field Lt Col Samuel Field Smith, III, USAF Ret., died peacefully on December 8, 2016 at his home in Kennesaw. He was 82 years old. Sam was preceded in death by his loving wife, Helen Smith (ne? Dummeldinger), who passed on December 21, 2015; father and mother, Samuel & Adele (ne? Stewart) Smith; sisters Norma Schilder and Linda Miccio; and nephew Mark Smith. Sam is survived by his brother and sister-in-law John & Jean Smith; brother-in-law Jack Schilder; brother-in-law Joe Miccio and his wife Betsy; children, David & Susan Smith, Christy & Ron Bocinsky, and Lisa & Ron Patrick; 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren; and many other family members and friends. Sam was born on April 28, 1934 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest of four children. As a young adult, Sam was a leader in the Luther League youth organization at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Southampton, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1954, a friend from the church, Walter Dummeldinger, set Sam and his friend Ted up on a double blind date with Walter's younger sister, Helen, and Helen's friend MarionSam with Marion and Helen with Ted. Things quickly re-arranged; Sam and Helen soon became engaged, and were married on December 27, 1957. During their engagement, Sam joined the US Air Force and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt on June 29, 1957. Thus began a 26-year military career that would bring Sam, Helen, and their growing family to such diverse places as Okinawa, Japan; Long Island, New York; San Antonio, Texas; the Pentagon in Washington, DC; and Marietta, GeorgiaSam and Helen racked up 30 moves and owned eight different homes during their lifetime of service. Under the G.I. Bill, Sam earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in December of 1975, where he majored in economics. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Sam served as part of the 56th Special Operations Wing, Udorn, Thailand, from April 1969 to April 1970, where his primary mission was to help establish the Royal Laotian Air Force by training Laotian student pilots. Sam also flew 72 combat missions over Cambodia, South Vietnam and Laos. For that action, Sam was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster and an Air Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters. In 2008, Sam wrote a cherished memoir for his family detailing his time in Thailand. At his retirement in 1981, Sam was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services during his time at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. After retiring from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel on February 28, 1981, Sam was hired as the manager of the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York. In 1986 Sam and Helen moved back to Marietta, where Sam managed McCollum Airport in Cobb County, Georgia until his final retirement on his 62nd birthday on April 28, 1996. On February 13, 2010, Sam commissioned his granddaughter, Leah, as a 2nd Lt in the Air Force, one of his proudest actions as a military officer. Sam was a lifelong lover of classical musicoften quizzing his family on this composer or that concertoand during retirement became a master woodworker. Sam produced furniture of all types including two heirloom-quality grandfather clocks and some 40 jewelry boxes and chests. At the peak of his craft Sam became interested in the Tansu technique, the traditional woodworking style of Japan. One of his designs, a step Tansu jewelry box, won Best in Show for an Emerging Artist at an art exhibition at Kennesaw State University in 2004. The following year, his Tansu chest of drawers won Best in Show. Sam will be remembered by his family and friends for his creative skits and poetic ditties; as an eminently entertaining party host; as a wily, left-handed tennis player; as having a sharp, seasoned, but fair mind in political debate; and most of all as a generous and loving husband, father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather. A reception for family and friends will be at Sam's home from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 15, 2016. A memorial service will be held Friday, December 16, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Winkenhofer Pine Ridge Funeral Home in Kennesaw, with a visitation starting at 9:00 a.m. Col Fred Butler, USAF Ret., will officiate the ceremony. A graveside service with full military honors will be held promptly at 12:30 p.m. at Georgia National Cemetery, Canton. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to www.WoundedWarriorProject.org.