Dr. Stover Lester Smith Jr.
Dr. Stover Lester Smith Jr., MD, 88, passed away peacefully at his daughter’s home in New Orleans on Dec.16, 2023. Dr. Smith (known affectionately as “Pops” to his children and grandchildren) was born on Aug. 11, 1935, in Ellisville to Stover Lester Smith Sr. and Henrietta Easterling Smith.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters Norma Ruth Reagan, Margie Nell Lycette and Martha Christine Puckett; brother William Larry Smith; wife Clara Stephens Smith; and son Stroud Stover Smith.
He is survived by his brother Thomas Gary Smith of Tyler, Texas; daughter Clara Stephenie Rudolf and her husband William B. Rudolf; son Stover Lester Smith III and his wife Amy Smith; grandchildren Farrell Diliberto, Elizabeth “Libby” Rudolf, William B. Rudolf Jr., Stroud Rudolf, Briede Smith and Laurel Smith; and great-grandchild Harris Diliberto.
Dr. Smith dedicated more than five decades of his life to his remarkable career as a radiologist. After graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in 1961, he completed an internship in internal medicine with the United States Air Force, where he achieved the rank of captain and was stationed in San Antonio and abroad in England and Italy. He then went on to complete his residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation and his fellowship in Interventional Radiology at the University of Miami/Jackson Health System. While in Miami, he trained under the direction of Dr. Manuel Viamonte Jr., an internationally renowned radiologist and a pioneer in the field of Interventional Radiology.
Dr. Smith then moved to New Orleans, where he practiced for more than 50 years as one of the city’s most beloved and well-respected radiologists. He was a founding member of the Mercy Baptist Radiology Group and served as chief of radiology at the Southern Baptist Hospital (now Ochsner Baptist). Dr. Smith was an active member in several professional medical societies, including the Radiological Society of North America, the American College of Radiology, the American Roentgen Ray Society, and the Orleans Parish Medical Society. Throughout his career, Dr. Smith was widely admired and adored by his colleagues and patients.
In his personal life, Dr. Smith was married to the love of his life and best friend Clara, who he met on the golf course in Laurel. Married for nearly 60 years, they spent countless hours together working on their golf swings, watching Saints games and dancing the night away. If he wasn’t on the golf course with Clara and his grandson Farrell, Dr. Smith was likely either traveling the world with his daughter Stephenie or with his family somewhere on the Mississippi Gulf Coast sipping on a glass of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay (or, as he would call it, “KJ”). He also enjoyed hunting and fishing with his son Stover and son-in-law Will, spending time with his six grandkids, watching plays at Laurel Little Theatre, eating hot dogs and McDonalds egg McMuffins, getting lunch with his sister-in-law Elizabeth Stephens Green (“Bette”), and making people split meals with him. Dr. Smith was the life of the party and always had a corny joke ready to make you laugh.
Dr. Smith was also heavily involved in both the Laurel and New Orleans communities. He was a member of Laurel Country Club, New Orleans Country Club, the Louisiana Club and Laurel Rotary Club. He was an elder at St. Charles Presbyterian Church in New Orleans and First Presbyterian Church in Laurel and was a benefactor of Lauren Rogers Museum of Art by donating part of his collection.
Visitation will be Thursday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. at Memory Chapel Funeral Home in Laurel followed by a graveside service at Lake Park Cemetery at 2 p.m.
To sign the online guestbook, visit www.memorychapellaurel.com.
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