Mississippi College Family Mourns Death of Music Minister Graham Smith

Graham Smith

A gifted music minister at Baptist churches for decades and prominent Mississippi College alumni leader, Graham Smith died after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Mississippi College leaders are saddened by the death of the 75-year-old former director of the music department at the Mississippi Baptist Convention. His deep voice brought the joy of praise and worship to churches across the Magnolia State.

“Graham lived out his conviction that worship is the number one priority for believers,” said MC music professor Lewis Oswalt. “He loved to lead congregations in worship through music and did it with passion and unmatched energy.”

A 1961 MC graduate and distinguished music alumnus, the Gulfport native died Monday evening. He served as a role model, mentor and teacher to Southern Baptist musicians statewide.

“What a magnificent voice God bestowed on him,” said Jim Futral, executive director-treasurer at the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, who served with Graham for 40 years. “But his real giftedness was not just in singing songs, but more importantly to lead people in praise and worship as though we were seated at the throne of God itself.”

At 10 a.m. Thursday, Futral will lead a lineup of five speakers making remarks at Smith’s funeral service at First Baptist Church Jackson following a one-hour visitation. Burial will be 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Evergreen Cemetery in Smith’s native Gulfport.

The dean of the MC School of Christian Studies & the Arts, Wayne VanHorn worked two revivals with Smith more than a decade ago. They also served together when VanHorn pastored First Baptist Church Columbia where Smith was the music evangelist.

“He sang with gusto, using every ounce of energy he had to sing praises to our Lord Jesus,” VanHorn said Tuesday. “I imagine Heaven’s choir is being revved up even now as Graham steps up to lead the saints and angels in Glory. His booming voice and positive enthusiasm will be missed. Our prayers go out to his sweet wife.”

Graham Smith and his wife, Alice, were named the 2007 recipients of MC’s Order of the Golden Arrow award that recognizes their deep commitment to their professions, their callings and each other. Longtime Clinton residents the couple was married for over 53 years.

“Their deep Christian faith, their willingness to serve, their love and loyalty to Mississippi College made the Smiths the ideal recipients of this honor,” President Lee Royce said at the time of the honor.

On Tuesday, Royce led the long list of Mississippi College admirers expressing their sadness at his passing and extending their prayers to the Smith family.

“He was a masterful musician with a commanding voice and presence and always exhibited a wonderful Christian spirit,” Royce said.

The graduate of MC and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary began serving as the leader of the Mississippi Baptist Convention music department in 1988. He held that position for 23 years.

During his tenure at the Mississippi Baptist Convention he coordinated and directed statewide presentations “God With Us and God For Us” at the Mississippi Coliseum. Under his leadership the convention board sponsored the Mississippi All State Youth Choir, Mississippi Baptist Symphony Orchestra and “One Voice,” an adult touring ensemble.

In recent years, Graham Smith served as interim music minister at First Baptist Church Natchez. His wife, Alice, served in several capacities at MC, including director of public relations and “Beacon” editor when she retired in January 2007.

Bill Baker, retired pastor at First Baptist Church Clinton, fondly remembers the many occasions Graham Smith sang at his congregation in MC’s hometown. His powerful voice was so strong he could practically “shake the building,” said the former Mississippi College Christian Studies professor. “We admired and respected him so much.”

As youth pastor at First Baptist Church Gulfport, Baker first got to know Graham as a young man attending his church on the Gulf Coast. The two men stayed in touch over the years.

Other leaders at the Mississippi Baptist Convention in Jackson also reached out to console the Smith family and spotlight Graham Smith’s many accomplishments during his splendid career. He served over 38 churches in an interim capacity and more than seven churches as a full-time minister of music in cities like Hattiesburg, Pascagoula, Laurel, Collins, and Clinton.

“When I ponder our Lord’s words that all things are possible with God, Graham always comes to mind,” said William Perkins, editor of “The Baptist Record,” the weekly newspaper for Baptists statewide. “From the smallest churches in Mississippi to mission fields across the world, he never encountered an obstacle he couldn’t overcome for the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ.”

In a “Beacon” magazine story, Graham Smith credits Mississippi College with preparing him to fulfill his calling. “I was led to Mississippi College as the place that God would use to prepare me for service using music as the main tool.”

Alice McCann Smith and Graham met as MC students in 1959. Alice was playing the piano in a practice room at Aven Hall on the Clinton campus when they met. The couple’s daughter, Alicia Smith Wilbanks ’84, and son, Louis Graham Smith, ’87, also graduated from Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College. Graham Smith was known as “Papa” to the couple’s six grandchildren.

The Parkway Funeral Home in Ridgeland is in charge of arrangements. Visitation will begin at 5-8 p.m. Wednesday evening at First Baptist Church Jackson. For more information, contact the funeral home at 601-853-7696.