Bernard “Mark” Smith, 69, of Safford, Arizona, was born Feb. 27, 1952, to Billy G. Smith and Marion Ruth (Kreidler) Smith in Waco, Texas. After spending his early childhood in Texas, Mark’s family relocated to Phoenix, Arizona.
Mark attended grade school at Saint Thomas the Apostle in Phoenix, Arizona. During these years, Mark was an altar boy at Saint Thomas as well as a paperboy delivering the local paper. He attended high school at Saint Mary’s in Phoenix and later attended Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona.
It was while he was attending EAC that he met his future wife, Nicki. The two were married on Aug. 25, 1973, at the home of Mark’s parents in Phoenix. Mark worked for Phelps Dodge in the Morenci mine. During the mine strike of 1983, Mark relocated his family, which now included four sons, to Alpine, Arizona.
While living in Alpine, Mark worked as a certified mechanic until the late 1990s, when he had to leave his job to provide full-time at-home care for his wife, Nicki. In March of 2007, Mark and Nicki moved to Safford, Arizona, where Mark continued to care for his wife.
After Nicki passed away in 2012, Mark began to pursue his passion for photography. He made many friends in the Safford area while still maintaining friendships from his years in Alpine.
Mark is preceded in death by his father, Billy, and his wife, Nicki. Mark is survived by his mother, Marion; sisters, Mary and Martha; sons, Chris, Jeremy (Adrienne), Cody (Ami), and Justin (Jamie), and granddaughters, Kylee, Calli, Jadyn, Samantha, Avery, Bonnie, Jacey, and Haylee.
