Steven Michael Smith was born February 7, 1977, to Mike and Marsha Smith. He married Misty Smith on October 23, 2004. They say that you can never find that one person you have everything in common with, that is your one true soulmate. Well, we did.

He had one brother, Christopher Smith; a niece, Addyson Smith, and nephew, Sawyer Smith; and his mother and father-in-law, Tony and Sarah Long.

Steve was a hard worker; he was always there if you needed him. It did not matter if it was a question or to work on something, he was always there if he was home. He joined the fire department in 1998 at age 21 and worked up the ranks, serving as an officer, assistant chief, and then chief. But anybody that knew Steve knew that he did not care about the title. He wanted to make sure that his firemen were safe and that his community was taken care of.

Steve had a wealth of knowledge and was a great trainer. He earned certificates in Emergency Medical Responder, Mobile Fire Suppression Training, VFF Block 1, 2, and 3, Emergency Care Provider, Hazardous Materials Awareness & Operations, 160 Hours Certified Volunteer Firefighter, Fire Instructor, and Emergency Vehicle Driver. He was also a certified scuba/rescue diver and instructor. He loved to teach people. He trained me. He would tell me, just because I’m your husband doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on you, and he meant every word of it. He wanted you to learn so that you would not make any mistakes that could cost you your life, and that was what made him good at what he did.

Steve helped start the first chapter of the Red Knight’s Chapter 8 in Winston County. He loved his motorcycles. We would ride every chance we would get. He bought me my own bike two years ago. We would get a group together on the weekend and ride or just take a spontaneous trip to Nashville. Those were some of the best times, just riding, not knowing where you would end up.

I could go on about all the stuff that Steve loved to do when we met. We did a lot of stuff. It was like we started living life, and the older we got, we started doing more. It was like we were afraid we would not have enough time to do everything we wanted. I’m glad that we did what he wanted to do, from riding in the mountains in North Carolina to scuba diving and snorkeling with the manatees in Florida. One thing is for certain—he loved his family, friends, fire department, and community.