Obituary for Alvin (Al) Charles Smith Pawleys Island, SC — Alvin (Al) Charles Smith, 78, died Friday, June 29, 2018 at home in Pawleys Island following an illness. His loving wife Caroline was at his side. He leaves his wife of 56 years, Caroline (Cleveland) Smith; his sons, David Charles Smith (RoseMarie), Gary Alan Smith (Nadine), and Brian Douglas Smith (Emily), his grandchildren Ryan, Tyler, Shannon, Connor, Braedon, Payton, Nathan, great-grandson Bentley, brothers, sisters, cousins, and many close friends.
Born and raised in Phillipsburg, NJ and Sound Beach, NY, the son of Jacob and Evelyn Smith, he was a lifelong resident of Long Island, NY and Pawleys Island, SC. In his early years, Alvin was an avid baseball player. He was a standout on his high school baseball team, and his talent with the bat, ball, and glove enabled an invitation to join the Brooklyn Dodger Rookies traveling baseball team where he had the pleasure of learning the finer points of playing First Base under the great Gil Hodges.
Following the Dodger Rookies, he played on many fine baseball teams on Long Island and eventually anchored many softball teams. After joining and serving with the United States Coast Guard, and Coast Guard Reserve, Alvin started his apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local Union 25. Following his apprenticeship where he earned Top Apprentice Honors, he worked with the Local 25 Electrical Union on Long Island, New York City, and up and down the East Coast until his retirement in 1997.
Following his retirement, Alvin followed his passion for volunteerism and community service by serving with numerous organizations that touched countless lives. He volunteered his time, along with his wife Caroline, with Miracle League Baseball. This summoned his skills and love for baseball and paired that with boys and girls with special needs within the community that longed to play baseball.
He worked with the Outreach Farm to raise cattle that provided meat and rerdzt/s to many local food banks, children’s homes, homeless shelters. During his time with the Kiwanis organization, funds were raised for children’s organizations and he served in many community events. He worked with church groups and traveled numerous times to Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild homes and the lives of those affected by the storm.
And lastly his considerable service with the Handy Volunteer team at Brookgreen Gardens, named as one of the Top 10 Public Gardens in the USA. He was able to muster his considerable skills from the electrical trade and his love of gardening, to help move Brookgreen forward with speed and efficiency as events unfolded throughout the calendar year and culminated with the Night of A Thousand Candles, Brookgreen’s annual flagship event. He accumulated hundreds of volunteer hours per year in his efforts.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am, July 7, 2018 at Saint Paul’s Waccamaw United Methodist Church in Pawleys Island. Alvin loved this community-minded church, and has requested that any memorials be directed toward the Saint Paul’s Waccamaw United Methodist Church Joy Class 180 St. Paul’s Place, Pawleys Island, SC 29585 or Tidelands Hospice, 295 N. Frasier St. Georgetown, SC 29442. Sign an online guestbook at www.
goldfinchfuneralhome.com Goldfinch Funeral Home, Beach Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Alvin (Al) Charles Smith please visit our Sympathy Store.
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