The funeral service for Mark Eugene Smith, Sr. will be 11 a.m., Wednesday, June 26, at Friendship Baptist Church with burial in the church cemetery. Visitation is from 5-8 p.m., Tuesday, June 25, at Riverwood Family and will resume from 10 a.m. until the time of service at Friendship on Wednesday.

Mark Eugene Smith, Sr., of Brookhaven, MS, went to his heavenly home on Saturday, June 22, 2024, in the arms of his loving wife and children.

Mark was 64 years old, he was married to his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, Patricia, for 43 years.

He had an endlessly abundant love for his wife and four children, Mandy (Michael Warren), Elaina (Lane Anders), Katie, and Mark Jr (Lennye). Mark had nine grandchildren, Mikayla Travis and husband, Canon, Kaylynn McCool and husband, Owen, Peyton Warren, Logan Anders, Cara Jarancik, Brady Anders, Kylie Jarancik and Anna Reese Smith; and one great grandchild on the way.

Mark was the definition of a great man. He was a man that you could call on for friendship and comfort. He would give of himself to help others without question.

Always known as a free spirit, Mark had a love for life, good music, and his work. He had a gift of fixing any and everything, if it was broken “call Mark”. He had a great knowledge of mechanics and did not fail to get things back up and running, even if the job seemed impossible.

His big smile and bright blue eyes will be greatly missed. We were truly one of the luckiest families to have been given the gift of being loved by his limitless, undying love. We will miss him endlessly. Until we meet again.

He is preceded in death by his loving parents, Robert Eugene Smith, Jr. and Elaine A. Smith.

He is also survived by his brother, Robert Wayne Smith and wife, Nancy; sister, Nancy Smith Campo and husband, Mark; two bonus sons, Philip Jarancik and Alton Hart; and a host of other loving family members and friends.

Funeral service for Plez William “Trey” Summers III will be 11 am Friday, June 21, at Riverwood Family with burial in Kees Cemetery. Visitation is from 9 am until time of service. 

Summers, 57, of Bogue Chitto, died June 14,
2024, at his residence. He was born May 10, 1967,
to Plez W. Summers, Jr. and Anne Brazda
Summers.
Command Sergeant Major Plez William Summers
III “Trey” enlisted in the Mississippi Army National
Guard, January 27, 1988. Shortly after completing
Basic Training, he enrolled in ROTC at Jackson
State University where he earned his commission
in May 1990. During his time as an officer,
Summers served as an infantry officer, executive officer, and a commanding
officer in 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment, including a nearly eight-month
mission in Bosnia as the company commander of B/1-155 IN. He elected to
resign his commission, October 31, 2002, to accept an AGR training NCO position
with A/1-155 IN.
Summers’ first assignment as an enlisted Soldier was serving as Company Master
Gunner in Company A, 1-155th CAB. Quickly rising through the ranks and
promoting to Sergeant First Class in May 2004, he served as the unit readiness
NCO for A/1-155 IN for a few months before deploying as a platoon sergeant in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from August 21, 2004, through January 20,
2006. Summers served as 1st battalion’s master gunner from November 2006,
until March 2015. Promoted to Master Sergeant in February 2008, he deployed
again in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and served as the First Sergeant of
Company D, 1-155 IN while deployed.
Upon returning from his second combat deployment to Iraq, Summers continued
his time as a master gunner in 1-155th, before becoming the operations NCO for
the MSARNG at Joint Force Headquarters, March 18, 2015. He continued serving
at JFH as a training NCO, operations/exercise training NCO, and training NCOIC
until his promotion to Sergeant Major in November 2018, becoming the
Operations Sergeant Major for 66th Troop Command.
In October 2019, Summers was selected to lead 1-155th IN as the Command
Sergeant Major until May 2021 when he moved to north Mississippi to serve as
the 155th ABCT Operations Sergeant Major. In less than two short years, he was
appointed as the Command Sergeant Major of Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training
Center, January 18, 2023.
His military education includes Basic Training, Infantry Officers Basic Course,
Infantryman Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Bradley Master
Gunner Course (Honor Graduate), Range Operations Course, Level II Range
Safety Course, and the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy.
A 1986 graduate of Brookhaven High School, Summers earned a football
scholarship to play for the Choctaws of Mississippi College in Clinton. He was a
member of the 1989 Division II National Champion Football Team and graduated
in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education with a minor in
Criminal Justice.
CSM Summers’ awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with 1
bronze oak leaf, Meritorious Service Medal with 1 bronze oak leaf, Army
Commendation Medal with a 4 bronze oak leaf cluster, Army Good Conduct
Medal with 3 knot device, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal,
National Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with 1 campaign star, Global War on Terrorism
Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver hourglass and
mobilization device, NCO Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 5,
Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 3, Army
Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, NATO Medal, Mississippi
Magnolia Medal with a 2 bronze oak leaf cluster, Mississippi Medal of Efficiency,
Mississippi War Medal with 1 bronze star, Mississippi Emergency Service Medal,
Mississippi Longevity Medal with a 4 bronze oak leaf cluster, Navy Unit
Commendation, Army Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Meritorious Unit
Commendation, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Master Gunner
Badge, and the Order of St. Maurice.

He is preceded in death by his parents.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife of 23 years, Amy Summers;
children, Alex Jordan Nations, Amy Josephine Summers, and Annabelle Leigh
Summers; and his sister, Stephanie Hargett.