Col. Chester C. Smith "Chet"

Colonel (Ret.) Chester C. “Chet” Smith, 81, of Morristown, passed away Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at the Heritage Center.  He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and was an Eagle Scout.  Chet graduated from Morristown High School in 1958 and coached football in the Morristown school system.  After High School, he enrolled at ETSU and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1964 where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. He later earned Masters’ degrees from both John Hopkins and Purdue Universities.  

He was commissioned as a U.S. Army second lieutenant through the ETSU ROTC program which began his 30-year career in the United States Army.  He began as a platoon leader with the 25thChemical Company in South Korea and returned to the U.S. in 1966.  As a newly minted captain, he was sent to Vietnam with the first shipment of gravel antipersonnel mines.  After attending the Chemical Officers Advanced Course, he was assigned to command ordnance companies in Germany before being named chief of an instruction branch at the Chemical School at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. He was then selected to go to the Kingdom of Jordan to help establish a chemical school and nuclear, biological, and chemical defense program, a task he repeated the next year in Portugal.  He served a one-year tour as commander of the 267th Chemical Company on Johnston Atoll where there were no in-person visitors.  Later, he served with the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  He was then Deputy Commander of the Army’s Chemical Research Development and Engineering Center (CRDEC).  Before his retirement in 1993, he also served in London, England and as chief of the Chemical Defense Section in the Pentagon.  

After his retirement from the military, he served as a district liaison for Representative Van Hillary and also worked in the area career center with military veterans. Chet served as former Exalted Ruler of the Elks Club.  He was a lifetime member and former trustee of the VFW Post 5266.  He was a member of both the Moose Lodge and Masonic Lodge 231.  He also served on the boards of MATS and CEASE.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Douglas Foy and Mary Jane Black Smith and daughter, Lindsey Hope Smith.  He is survived by his wife Jane; mother of his children, Robin Smith; son, David (Tiffany) Smith; brother, Jerry (Taffy) Smith; bonus children, Ellen (Joey) Scruggs and Todd Womble; grandchildren, Ryker Smith, Vivien Smith, and Joella Scruggs; and special friends, Eddie Collake, Wayne Hammond, and Benny Waddell.  

The family will receive friends Saturday from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm at Trinity United Methodist Church prior to the service at 2:00 with Reverend Dale Gilbert officiating.  Interment will follow in St. Paul Cemetery.  Flowers are welcome; however, donations may also be made in Chet’s memory to Trinity United Methodist Church; 425 Wilder Street; Morristown, TN 37813.

Allen Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Col. Chester C. Smith "Chet", please visit our floral store.