Dr. Craig E. Smith
Dr. Craig E. Smith, 57, of Alpharetta, Ga., went to be with his Heavenly Father on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018 at Northside Hospital Atlanta with his wife, Kathy, son Tanner, and loved ones at his side.
Services for Craig are scheduled for 11 a.m. this Friday, Feb. 16 at Lebanon Baptist Church, 11250 Crabapple Road, Roswell, Ga. 30075. The Smith family is requesting in lieu of flowers, that memorial contributions may be made to Tanner’s Totes Inc., 10400 Stanyan Street, Alpharetta, Ga. 30022, or online at tannerstotes.com.
Dr. Smith was born on March 11, 1960 at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Ga. After moving with his parents to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, Craig’s family, along with a younger brother and two younger sisters, settled in Alpharetta, where Craig attended Milton High School.
Excelling in sports, Craig was a star baseball and basketball player, and was named to the Milton Basketball Dream team his senior year. Craig graduated from Milton High School in 1978.
Craig attended Tennessee Tech University to play collegiate basketball. He then spent two years at the Georgia Institute of Technology before entering Emory Dental School where he graduated in 1985. He joined Dr. Robert Smith’s dental practice in Roswell, that same year. Over the years, Craig donated many hours of dental care to the needy and homeless in the Atlanta area.
Craig’s love of sports never waned. He was most fond of his many golf outings with his father Bob, who instilled Craig with his incredible work ethic and sense of integrity, as did his beloved grandparents, Baldwin and Marion Fears.
It was on a blind date in 1985 when Craig would meet his beautiful wife Kathy. They married on December 20, 1986 and thus began a partnership in mutual love and devotion that would span over 30 years. Their life together was an extraordinary testimony to the grace that God can display in a marriage.
Craig and Kathy’s son Tanner was born on March 30, 1990. From an early age, it was clear Tanner had inherited his dad’s athletic abilities. It was also clear, Craig’s greatest joy in life was watching his son compete in sports from an early age to playing basketball at Clemson University as well as professionally in Europe. Tanner embodies his father’s integrity and strength of character.
In 1992, Craig’s life would forever change when he was diagnosed with Stage 4, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. With Kathy, Tanner, and his entire family fighting by his side, Craig courageously began treatment to rid himself of cancer, but he would battle the after effects of his treatments the remainder of his life due to Graft vs Host Disease.
Craig’s bravery in facing illness inspired countless friends and strangers, particularly his son Tanner. At 12 years of age, witnessing daily his father’s courage, Tanner began his own charity, Tanner’s Totes, to help young patients with life threatening illnesses. To date, Tanners Totes has delivered gifts and joy to over 10,000 young teens undergoing long-term hospital treatment in over 70 hospitals nationwide.
While Craig’s illness continued to progress, it did not define him. His spine was that of steel, and his mind always focused on the future and the lives that he could still impact. He did not falter, or buckle, and we all stood back in profound admiration. Craig’s faith in Jesus Christ was his sustaining power, and his wife Kathy, his wings.
In life, as in athletics, Craig left everything on the field of play. He held nothing back, and sacrificed himself so that others could cross the finish line before him. Now Craig has the eternal victory. Through our tears we clearly see the path he left each of us to follow, and we cherish that gift he gave us all.
Craig is preceded in death by his father, J. Robert Smith, and his mother and father in-law Dorothy and Marshall “Mike” Shirley.
Craig is survived by his wife Kathy, son Tanner and his fiancé, Julia Stone, his mother Phyllis Smith, brother Todd Smith, and sisters Kelly Wallace, and Traci Skidmore