Edward Dean Smith

Edward Dean Smith of Burleson died on Monday, May 12, 2025, at Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South after a series of health challenges as a long-term survivor of lymphoma. He was 66.

Born in Fort Worth and raised in Burleson, “Big Ed” was a 1977 graduate of Burleson High School who went on to become a commercial telephone installer, a wind and solar vendor, and ultimately a beekeeper. He enjoyed taking things apart and putting most of the pieces back together, which yielded surprisingly effective results when working on the classic cars he loved to drive and the motorcycles he loved to ride. He took every opportunity to hit the open road and travel, whether taking a solo trip to the Salt Flats in Utah or tending to his beehives in East Texas. He was also a talented blues singer, harmonica player and trumpet player whose bands performed regularly in and around Fort Worth for most of his adult life, including frequent shows at J.J.’s Blues Bar and the Keys Lounge.

Eddie is preceded in death by his father, George Edward Smith. He is survived by his mother, Anna Marie Smith; sister Sheri Bumgardner (Rick Zepeda); sister Dee Anna (Chris) Hanchey; niece Amy (Jeremy) Jameson; nephew Dustin Bumgardner; great-nephews Jett and Aero Jameson; and many cherished aunts, uncles and cousins.

He never met a stranger and will be missed by countless friends, from his old high school buddies to the new friends he collected wherever he traveled. Eddie also leaves behind a formidable collection of dead cell phones, broken reading glasses, musical instruments, automotive parts and partially completed projects — along with several hundred thousand honeybees that continue to fill his hives with the sweetest honey in Texas.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, 2025, at Blessing Funeral Home in Mansfield, Texas, followed by an on-site reception. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rendon Cemetery Association, where Eddie volunteered for several decades, c/o John Crocker, 719 Lorna Street, Burleson, TX 76028.