Preston Scott Smith was born August 17, 1999 in San Marcos Texas to Doug and Tammy Smith. His brother Colby arrived in March 2002. The Smith family lived in San Marcos until December of 2005. While in San Marcos Preston attended Mother’s Day Out at First United Methodist Church and Wonderland School. Preston took Karate lessons at Diaz Martial Arts and loved playing outside. He would drive his Fischer Price jeep or electric 4-wheeler through the neighbor’s yard over to his friend Matthew’s house to play when he was only 3 years old. He could swim at 1 year old and water ski at 4. He loved going on the boat and being on the lake. He would fall asleep wearing a life jacket seated in a rocker while on the boat at 6 months old.
The Smith family moved to New Braunfels in December of 2005 to a neighborhood with large wooded lots on the river. Preston and his brother are avid outdoorsmen enjoying riding bicycles, skateboards, golf carts, 4 wheelers, fishing, kayaking, swimming, hunting and wakeboarding. Preston learned to play the electric guitar and performed in a 5th grade talent show at Hoffman Lane elementary, a performance remembered and copied until this day.
Preston played basketball, baseball, and football on various teams both in the community and while at school at Churchill Middle School and Canyon High School. He and his brother excelled at wakeboarding, both behind our boat and at Texas Ski Ranch Cable Lake. He later became interested in body building and transformed his 6’2” physique becoming quite muscular. After graduating from Canyon High School in 2018, Preston attended Texas State University hoping to obtain a business degree. He worked at Amazon for a time, saving all of his money to buy investment property and invest in equities. In his off time near the end of his life he especially enjoyed hunting at his grandparents’ ranch and fishing at the lake and river. He would process his own deer making homemade sausage and clean and cook his own fish. For reasons that we cannot comprehend he chose to end his life on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.
Preston is survived by his mother Tammy Rea Smith, father Douglas Scott Smith, and brother Colby Grant Smith of New Braunfels, Texas, his maternal grandfather Van Rea of Art, Texas, his Aunts Mindy Rea Hasie and Laura McDowell of Austin, Texas, his Uncle Chad Smith of Austin and his many cousins, 2nd cousins and great aunts and uncles. He is preceded in death by his paternal grandmother Betty Jo Hudson of Galveston, his Maternal Grandmother Willeda Rea of Art, Texas and his cousin Michael Wyeth of Austin, Texas.
Funeral Services will be held at First United Methodist Church, 129 W Hutchinson Street, San Marcos, Texas, on Saturday, January 15th at 2:00pm.
Donations can be made to the Preston Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Doug Smith, 650 Riverforest Dr., New Braunfels, Texas 78132.
Arrangements in care of Pennington Funeral Home, 323 N. Comanche, San Marcos, Texas 78666, 512-353-4311 ~ www.penningtonfuneralhome.com.
