William Smith

Mac was a loving husband and father. He enjoyed spending time with family doing the things he loved. His favorite activities were hunting, fishing, reading, dominoes, and spending time in nature. He was always there when someone needed help, no matter the time or location. He is deeply missed by all of his loved ones.

In 2023, Mac shared several of his fondest memories with his grandson Cody for a school paper. One of his earliest memories was an experience he had at the age of five. His family was swimming in a creek, and eventually, he went off by himself. He got stuck in a hole and could not swim. He jumped up and down but started seeing "sunlight." When he woke up, his dad was giving him CPR. When he was seven years old, his older brother had a swing fifteen feet up in the air. His brother pushed him, and he fell and landed on his head. His brother took him across town on the handlebars of his bike to get help, but my grandfather does not remember the ride.

His school years were memorable in many ways. He attended school at Rush Springs from 1957 to 1964. He then went to Sterling until 1969. When he was eight years old, he started playing baseball and loved it! Then, when he was twelve years old, his dad died of lung cancer. He fondly remembered the last game his dad was able to attend before being hospitalized. When he was thirteen, he claimed to have played his best game. He pitched a no-hitter against Cement. At five innings, he had struck out fourteen players, had one homerun, and had two doubles. At sixteen and a junior, he hit further than anyone at Sterling (500 ft). It went over the light poles and into the wheat fields. However, the umpire called it a foul ball because he couldn't see where it went.

After high school, he was drafted into the Navy at nineteen and served for four years. He was on the USS Denebola for three years and nine months as a gun mount captain and master-at-arms. According to Denebola's decommissioning paperwork, it spent the majority of the time he was aboard touring the Mediterranean with a few excursions to Guantanamo Bay and the North Sea. He went to 26 countries; several he visited up to twelve times. He also went on eleven trips across the Atlantic. After he left the Navy, he worked in the oil fields. He met Jerry Jones, the owner of the rig he was working on. He said that my grandfather would "make a good tight end." At the time, he was 6'2" and weighed over 200lbs. After injuring his back on the oil rig, he attended USAO for six years at night and obtained a business degree.

During that time, he met his future wife at the Saddle Club when a "good-looking redhead" walked by and threw ice at him. He chased her on the dance floor, and one month later, they were married in 1977. They built a house on fifty acres with various animals. They had daughters Teri, Chancie, and Ashley. During this time, he returned to the oil field until it went bust. Then, he mowed yards for four years until he became a rural carrier for three years. When he started at the post office, he was a city carrier in Oklahoma City. He eventually went to the Chickasha post office, where he retired after 16 years.

He enjoyed his retirement doing his favorite things: spending time with family, hunting, fishing, gardening, and playing dominoes.