Sam Palmer Smith-Vaniz

Canton- Sam Palmer Smith-Vaniz was born in Canton, MS on May 28, 1948 and departed on May 10, 2019. He met Bridget Blackstock at Holmes Junior in 1968 and knew he had met the woman he was going to marry. They married on June 7, 1968 and have been married for fifty years. He was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church of Canton.

Sam graduated from Ole Miss in 1970 in Sales and Marketing. He retired from Trustmark National Bank in May 2015 after a long career in banking. Sam was a lifetime member in the Rotary Club of Canton where he served as Secretary/Treasurer for many years.

Sam’s joy in life came from spending time with the love of his life, Bridget, known as BeBe, and his family. Pop, as his grandchildren called him, loved traveling with BeBe and vacationing at the beach with family and friends. He could always be found in his shop, wearing his overalls, enjoying his favorite hobby, woodworking. Of course, he always needed a new tool when starting a new project. Sam loved to take things apart just to see how they worked. Sometimes he got them back together with all the parts and sometimes he didn’t. Sam touched the lives of many people throughout his life. He will be dearly missed.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Watson Smith-Vaniz and Lucille Ledbetter Smith-Vaniz.

He is survived by his wife, Bridget Smith-Vaniz; daughters, Lea Ann (Doug) Packer and Sandra (Sean) Sartin; grandchildren, John Palmer Sartin, Jack Andrew Sartin, and Lea Douglas Packer; Siblings, Jo Ann Smith-Vaniz Phillips, William Larry Smith-Vaniz, and Thomas Richard Smith-Vaniz; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be at Breeland Funeral Home from 5 – 7 pm on Monday, May 13, 2019.  Memorial services will be 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at First Baptist Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First Baptist Church of Canton, P. O. Box 377, Canton, MS 39046.

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