Matthew Smith, born March 22, 1956, of Bearden, AR passed from this life to his eternal home on September 8, 2026 leaving a legacy of love and laughter. He was a member of Holly Springs Baptist Church. Matthew was a Master Electrician and an HVAC technician of which he was very proud to have earned. More importantly, he was a family man and dearly loved his family. His family will miss his cooking that was always so good even though he told them they were his guinea pigs for testing new renditions of recipes. He loved cooking and gathering the family together for holidays, for fish fries, or any reason to have a big family event. Matthew was always fun and games and enjoyed food and laughter. He was the life of the party with his teasing and tall tales. One such tell was when he was wearing his Dog the bounty hunter shirt that he told some people in a store that he was Dog's cousin and he really had them going and then he rushed the family out of the store as fast as he could to avoid telling them he was teasing. Matthew and his family left the store and pulled up to a restaurant and the family he was teasing pulled up also, when he saw them there, he just backed out and left that restaurant and took his family to a different restaurant.

Matthew loved playing with the kids and was always pulling pranks on them like scratching at their window and making hoot owl sounds or telling them there was a horse outside. He always had the boys going. He loved talking and never met a stranger. Matthew was an avid outdoorsman who loved his fishing and hunting. He also enjoyed woodworking, gardening and potting plants, and a bonsai tree. He tinkered with growing things.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles W. And Earleen Givens Smith; and sister, Susan Smith. Left to Cherish his memory is his wife, Sandra Smith; sons, Jacob Evans (Amanda) and Charlie Smith (Morgan); brothers, Mark Smith (Anna) and Jeb Smith; grandson, Cole Evans; granddaughters, Artemis Evans, Laura Evans, and Sage Evans; aunt and uncle, Carolyn and Thurlow Counts; nephews, Bryan Smith and Chris McCullough; niece, Scarlett Amber Sarbaugh; countless cousins; and numerous relatives.

A visitation to remember and celebrate Matthew will be held Thursday, September 10, 2026 at Proctor Funeral Home from 5:00PM to 8:00PM. A graveside service will be 11:00AM Friday, September 11, 2026 at Atchley Cemetery at Dalark, AR 71763.