Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 2-28-20

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Rogers Park Golfer To Be Laid To Rest This Weekend
A popular golfer at Rogers Park Golf Course will be laid to rest this weekend.
Eddie James Smith, Jr.,
passed away on Sunday, Feb- ruary 23, 2020, just a few months after learning he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Smith died several days shy of his 77th birthday.
Funeral services for Smith will be held Saturday, Febru- ary 29, 2020, at Grace Mary M. B. Church, 3901 N. 37th St., Tampa (33610), at 2 p. m., with Aikens Funeral Home in charge.
Smith was one of the youngsters that hung around
EDDIE JAMES SMITH, JR.
the Rogers Park before it be- came a golf course, and helped
to build it into a golf course. In an article written and published in 2010 and 2019 on Willie Black, builder of the golf course and its first man- ager, Smith tells the writer, Rhonda Glenn, “I shoveled out bunkers, helped shape greens,” Smith says. “I re- member seeing Willie Black stand on that big hill over there onNo.6.Itwaslikehewason a mountaintop. He was like John Wayne, Big Jake, sur- veying the area, all alone in the sun. Things that powerful stick
with you.”
When the course opened in
1953 for African Americans, Smith was 10 years old. He became one of the first caddies hired. According to his obitu- ary, Smith became a deco- rated competitor who helped put the course on the national map. Although retired from Seaboard Coastline Railroad, he spent his life on Rogers Park Golf Course and even taught and played with several profes- sionals.
For additional information on his services, see funeral no- tices in this edition.
FYI
Mental
Health
Forum
A forum to talk about mental health and how it af- fects our families and stu- dents will be held on Saturday, February 29, 2020. The forum will be held at Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Temple Terrace, 8718 N. 46th St., Tampa (33617).
Refreshments will be available at 11 a.m., followed by the forum that begins at 11:30 a. m. Several organiza- tions will participate.
For additional informa- tion, contact Robin Lock- ett (813) 310-0793.
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