Jeff & Leslie Smith

President & Vice President

Jeff, John and Kay's son, joined the staff in June 2006 as a funeral director. In 2010 Jeff and Leslie stepped into the role of leading the funeral homes. They plan to continue the legacy of the funeral home. Jeff graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor's Degree in Small Business Management and the University of Memphis with a MBA. He is proud to carry on the Smith family tradition of funeral service and the proud father of three children, Hayden, Kaylee, and Sawyer. As Vice President, Leslie adds her motherly touch to our Smith Family.

John & Kay Smith

Former Owners of Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home

Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home was founded February 14, 1955 by Clifford Smith, father of John, who has worked there in some capacity since its inception. John took over management of the funeral home in 1972. Kay, John's wife, has worked at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home since 1977. Kay oversees the clerical work and helps on services as needed.

Clay Smith

General Manager of Operations, Smith Family Funeral Homes

Clay came to work at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home in 1979 as an apprentice. He became a Funeral Director in 1983 after serving his apprenticeship and going to Mortuary School in Dallas. He was Manager of Smith - North Funeral Home from 2005 to 2015, and is now General Manager of Operations of all Smith Family Funeral Homes locations. Clay and his wife Audrey have two children and he is "PaPa" to his four grandchildren.

Emory Martin III

Care Center & Cremation Center Manager

Emory, a licensed embalmer and funeral director, joined our firm in 2011. He is the manager of Smith Family Care Center along with our Cremation Centers in Little Rock & North Little Rock.  Emory is a CANA certified crematory operator, an honor graduate of ASU – Mountain Home with a degree in Mortuary Science, and a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

Emory has one daughter, Erica, and is a very proud uncle to Caden, Blayklen, Nicholas & Peyton. He and his spoiled dachshund, Doxie, live in Alexander, Arkansas. Emory is a member of the Central Arkansas Perinatal Loss Coalition, serves on the Association for Death Education & Counseling Credentialing Council, and serves as Board President of Nichols Cemetery Association in Marked Tree, Arkansas. In his free time, he enjoys cruises, road trips, camping and spending time with his family and friends.

Mike Wilcox

Funeral Director & Embalmer

Mike joined the staff in February of 1971 as a funeral director and embalmer. In 1980 Billy and Ramona sold interest to Mike and their son Murry. Mike and his wife, Rebecca, have four adult children; Lynli (Little Rock); Michael (Eureka Springs); Michelle (Rogers); and Megan (San Jose, CA).

Rebecca Wilcox

Bookkeeper

Rebecca helps with our bookkeeping and is married to Mike Wilcox.

Tim Wright

Manager, Funeral Director & Embalmer

Tim came to us in August 1979 directly from Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in Dallas, TX. He is the Manager of Ruggles-Wilcox Funeral Home, a licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer, and is married to Sharon, who is also on staff. They have two children, Neil in Elkins, AR and Tara in Fayetteville, AR.  Tara is married to Aaron Hughes, and they have three sons, Brayden Allen, Aylor Audric and Callen Aven. Tim and Sharon are members of Arkadelphia Church of Christ, where he serves as a Deacon. In 2018, he was named the Arkansas Funeral Director of the Year by the Arkansas Funeral Directors Association.

Sharon Wright CPC

Certified Planning Consultant

Sharon is married to our own Tim Wright and is doing a great job with our advanced planning marketing and sales.  In addition to advance planning, she also provides insurance options and handles custom monuments.

Douglas Wilson

Funeral Director

Douglas Wilson is a Funeral Director with 10 years of experience in the funeral industry.  He started working as maintenance and part-time Funeral Assistant in Russellville, while attending Arkansas Tech University.  Douglas received his Bachelor of Professional Studies with a minor in Sociology in December 2012.  He then started and finished his Funeral Director apprenticeship and became licensed in 2014.  Douglas then moved to central Arkansas and served the families there for five years.  He moved to Arkadelphia in May 2020 to serve the families of Clark county with Ruggles Wilcox Funeral Home.

Douglas has a heart of a servant and has been fulfilling his calling of ministering to families ever since meeting his first family.

David Blackwell

Funeral Director & Embalmer

David started in the funeral business in 1986. He graduated from the Northwest Mississippi Community College Mortuary Science program in 1990. David is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. He married his wife Cheryl in 1990. They have three children, Melissa, Michael and John, and six grandchildren.

Dennis Rothfus

Funeral Director & Embalmer

Dennis is a licensed funeral director and embalmer who joined Smith Family in 2018.

Tobey Pentecost

Cemetery Supervisor

Tobey has done an outstanding job mastering all of the details that are involved in the portion of our work that deals with the cemetery. He is married to Shasta Turner Pentecost and they have two sons, Turner and Wynn.

Clark Keeling

Cemetery Maintenance Assistant

Clark assists with Rest Haven Memorial Gardens and has been with us since 2018.

Ellis Jones

Funeral Assistant

Ellis is a funeral assistant who helps with services.

Ashley Shaver

Apprentice Embalmer & Funeral Director

Ashley is an apprentice embalmer and funeral director who attends the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope's Funeral Service and Mortuary Science Degree Program.

Linda Jones

Hostess

Linda, who is married to Ellis, is a visitation attendant.

Nancy Freeman

Hostess

Nancy is a visitation assistant who has been with us since 2018.

Flossie Mitchell

Housekeeping Supervisor

Flossie has been our housekeeping supervisor for many years.