Craig Richard Smith

Craig Richard Smith, age 77, of the Cypress Creek Community of Bladen County, 3980 NC Highway 210 West, Garland, NC died on Sunday, December 14, at the family residence.

With him at the time of his passing were his wife of 46 years, Emily R. Coble, and his daughter Claire Ruth Coble Smith, who was an integral member of his care team for the last three years.

All who met, engaged him in conversation, and then developed a friendship with Craig before the ravages of Parkinson’s Disease knew from their first encounters that they were in the company of a humble, intellectual, a man of reason and good common sense.

Born November 27, 1948 in Nashua, New Hampshire to Claire Florence Richard and Leonard Arthur Smith, who are both deceased, Craig graduated from Alvirne High School, in Hudson, NH, the class of 1966, from the University of New Hampshire, class of 1970, with ROTC distinction. Craig enlisted in the regular Army in the Transportation Corps, training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, then left for Vietnam, where he was an officer, overseeing supplies coming in and shipment out of Agent Orange, the source of his struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. Upon his honorable discharge from active duty, Craig remained in the Army Reserve rising to the rank of captain. Craig returned to New Hampshire where he worked various manual jobs, while saving and preparing for graduate school, at Virginia Tech where he completed a master’s degree in Urban Planning in 1975. .

Employment with the Lumber River Council of Government, Lumberton, NC as a planner brought Craig to North Carolina, where he loved the climate, found the people friendly and greatly approachable, while not always immediately understanding the language accents, and where he met Emily Coble and her family. Married in 1979, Craig and Emily moved Down East, where their daughter Claire was born in Greenville, NC, and where Craig served as Pitt County’s planner. Returning to Lumberton and Robeson County, Craig worked for the City of Lumberton as the planner and later headed the Robeson County Health Department twice as interim health director. While in Lumberton, Craig also worked as an analyst for Cardinal Health Agency, a regional planning agency that was part of North Carolina’s attempt to bring down medical costs, among other goals.

Realizing how much he liked health planning, Craig sought employment with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as an analyst and moved his family to Raleigh. Working in the DHHS state facility with the area of concentration the NC Mountains, Craig loved the public hearing in the scenic Appalachian Mountains and the small town County Seats of government. With his promotion to assistant section chief and later section chief, Certificate of Need, Craig’s responsibilities involved working with analysts covering the rest of the State, where he again embraced the uniqueness of his adopted Tar Heel State, worked on his North Carolina accent and enjoyed the blessings of his daughter, his nieces and nephews, and Christopher Conner.

Upon his retirement in 2014, Craig moved to Pecan Grove Farm, where for a brief time, he helped his wife with her farm business, worked on the inside of the farmhouse, and drove his golf cart around as the disease progressed that would later rob him of mobility, speech, thought processes and his life. Craig never complained, wanted to be a burden, or wanted to leave his family. A life long learner, Craig poured over National Geographic, any encyclopedia, biographies of historical and political people, maps, and travel materials. Conversations with him always resulted in learning something new, entertaining, humorous, and insightful.

Preceded in death by his sister-in-law, Elmina Coble Cashwell and her husband Robert, his brother-in-law, Scott Coble and his wife Frances, two nephews, and another brother-in-law Miles Lewis Cashwell, Sr, Craig leaves to cherish his memory, his wife, daughter, and two sisters-in- law, Patricia Coble Cashwell of Boone, and Carlene Coble McIntyre (Herb) also of Cypress Creek Community. Craig’s sister Ann Brooke Smith of Hudson, NH also survives, along with several first cousins in the Richard/Smith families of NH.

A memorial service will be held at Antioch United Methodist Church, 4404 NC Highway 210 West, Garland, NC on Saturday, December 20, 2025 11:00 AM, with a visitation beginning in the Church sanctuary at 10:00 AM,

In lieu of flowers, a Memorial Contribution may be made to Antioch Methodist Church, care of "Kitchen Sisters". Please mail donations to: 3980 Hwy 210 W., Garland, NC 28441.