North Little Rock

Jeff Smith joined the staff in June 2006 as a funeral director. In 2010, he and his wife Leslie stepped into the role of leading the funeral homes. 

Jeff graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor's Degree in Small Business Management and the University of Memphis with an MBA. He is proud to carry on the Smith family tradition of funeral service. He and Leslie are the proud parents of three children, Hayden, Kaylee, and Sawyer. 

As Vice President, Leslie adds her motherly touch to the Smith Family Funeral Homes. 

Clay came to work at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home in 1979 as an apprentice funeral director. He became a licensed Funeral Director in 1982 after serving his apprenticeship. He then went to Mortuary School in Dallas and was licensed as an embalmer in 1983.

He was Manager of Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home from 2005 to 2015, and is now General Manager of Operations of all Smith Family Funeral Homes.

Vicki is the manager of Smith-North Little Rock Funeral Home. She is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. She joined the firm in 2011. She knew as a teenager that she wanted to be involved in the funeral Industry and considers serving grieving families to be a "ministry" that allows her to fulfill that calling. She attended Arkansas Tech and is a graduate of Commonwealth Institute, Houston, TX.

Educator by degree, family advocate, donor mom, funeral director, wife, and momma. But the sudden loss of her twin son, Eli, gave her the hardest title of all: Griever.

After this unexpected loss, Jodie's career in education shifted as she began serving the bereavement community, specifically in infant and child loss for the next 13 years. In 2020, she followed the calling further and joined Smith Family Funeral Homes. 

Today, Jodie is the Director for the Willow Award: Excellence in End-of-Life Care and has the privilege of serving on the Arkansas Infant Loss Coalition for our state. She also serves as a volunteer speaker for ARORA (Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency) and Donate Life America, as well as Arkansas Children's, UAMS, and Molly Bears. Jodie is committed to educating healthcare and deathcare professionals on the differences between grief and gratitude and the impact of Patient and Family Centered Care. 

Jodie has been married to her college sweetheart, Jesse, for 19 years and their greatest pride resides in raising their children together. Every moment matters. 

Brent, a licensed funeral director and licensed pre-arrangement counselor, joined Smith Family in 2000.  Brent produces most of our Life Celebration videos and takes care of the websites and social media.

Brent and his wife Connie have six children between them; Amanda Boxley, Stephanie & Thomas Pack, Heather & Matt Johnson, Christopher Tolleson, Shannon Tolleson & Tate; Bethany Brooke Hill; nine grandkids; Mya Belle, Ally & Alex, Tyson, Dovovan, Teddy Tolleson, Lilah Maebry Pack , Thomas “Cade” Pack, Hadlee Pack and two dogs Ms. Sassy and Zoey. 

Billy Byrd is a licensed funeral director and has been with Smith Family since 2016.  He specializes in taking care of families during funeral and memorial services. Prior to joining Smith Family, Billy served as a pastor with the Assemblies of God churches. 

Harvey joined Smith Family Funeral Homes in July 2020 after retiring from a long and successful career with a Fortune 500 consumer goods company in Sales & Marketing.

He is a graduate of the National School of Broadcasting in Atlanta, and he also attended Winston-Salem State University.  In his earlier career, he was a radio broadcaster and tv news reporter.

Smith Family Funeral Homes provides Harvey an opportunity to utilize his God-given gifts in a way that blesses others, especially the families he serves. He uses a 5-star approach to make a difference in the lives of others.

Bill Smith has spent most of his career in Trust and Investment banking and working in an Investment Advisory role. Bill grew up in Little Rock, spent several years out of state working for large banks and returned in the late 90's with one of Arkansas's largest banks. Bill received his education having attended both Hendrix College and finishing at UALR. Bill is married to the former Judy Ferguson, having six children, fourteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Bill describes his work at Smith Family Funeral Homes as a "vocation he wishes he had found years ago."

Jewel files all the insurance papers and death certificates among many other duties. She joined the staff part time in 1999 and and full time in 2002. Jewel is a mother of 2, Dominic and Crystal, and is a "Nana" to four beautiful grandchildren. 

She went to UA Pulaski Technical College and received a Medical Coder Certificate. Former careers include working for the FBI, State Police Department and she was in the Army.

jennifer@smithfamilycares.com

Office: (501) 758-1170

Mobile: (501) 590-7928

jhulsizer@smithfamilycares.com

Office: (501) 758-1170

Mobile: (501) 860-5330

patricia@smithfamilycares.com

Mobile: 501-288-1266

sjones@smithfamilycares.com

(501) 247-0603

Emory, a licensed Embalmer & Funeral Director, joined our firm in 2011. He is the Manager of Smith Family Care Center along with our Cremation Centers in Little Rock, North Little Rock & Glenwood.  Emory is a CANA certified crematory operator, an honor graduate of ASU – Mountain Home with a degree in Mortuary Science, and a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. Emory received scholarships to attend ICCFA University in 2019 & 2021, and he is the 2020 recipient of the Clifford Smith Award. 

Emory has one adult daughter, Erica, and is a very proud uncle to Nicholas & Peyton. He and his spoiled dachshunds, Doxie & Frankie, live in Shannon Hills, Arkansas. Emory is a member of the Central Arkansas Perinatal Loss Coalition and serves as Board President of Nichols Cemetery Association in Marked Tree, Arkansas. When not at work, Emory serves as a Captain with Northeast Saline County Fire Department and enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Sharon joined the Smith Family in 2017. She has served North Little Rock and Central Arkansas families through church ministry since 1995. 

She is passionate about helping others know there is life after loss and has helped develop our grief support.  Sharon’s other passion is her family. She and her husband, North Little Rock Police Chaplain David Barnes, have three adult children who also serve their communities.

Hannah Cooper joined the Smith Family in January 2021. She started as a secretary in the Benton location and then moved to the North Little Rock location to assist the bookkeeping manager with day-to-day operations of the seven funeral homes.

Hannah grew up in the heart of Little Rock and was a proud Tiger at Little Rock Central High School. She attended college at Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Debbie joined the Smith Family in May 2017, following the loss of her oldest daughter, Bailey, in December 2015. Debbie and her husband Kevin have seven children between them (two in Heaven); Brandon, Bailey, Kyleigh, Kaitlynn, Kaitlyn Ann-Marie and Olivia Grace. Together they facilitate the Central Arkansas Chapter of While We’re Waiting Ministries for Bereaved Parents. She has learned God can use the absolute weakest and most unlikely for His glory. Debbie’s passion is helping families, especially those experiencing the loss of a child. She considers it a blessing to be able to serve those families.

Laymon is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. He joined Smith Family in 2001 after his retirement from Roller-Owens Funeral Home.

John Stephen Smith took over as President of North Little Rock Funeral Home in 1972 when he was 23 years old. John's father, Clifford, founded the funeral home on Valentine's Day, 1955.

John had worked in the funeral home in some capacity since its inception when Clifford and Frances Smith moved their family into the upper level of the funeral home.

Kay, John's wife, has worked at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home since 1977. Kay oversees the clerical work and helps on services as needed.

In 2010, John retired and sold the funeral home to his son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Leslie Smith.