Kevin Earl Smith

Kevin Earl Smith left us for the Spirit World on Friday, March 14, 2025. Kevin was proud to be a native Tennessean and was born on February 17, 1964, in Savannah, Tennessee. He was the son of Kenneth and Wanda Smith. 

Kevin and his brother Ken grew up on the family farm and loved spending time outdoors. They attended Parris South Elementary School where their father was the principal and their mother was later a first-grade teacher. After graduating from high school, Kevin attended Vanderbilt University where he earned his BA, MA, and PhD in Anthropology. Kevin’s passion was his career in Tennessee archaeology that spanned more than thirty years and touched the lives of a wide circle of colleagues, students, and amateur enthusiasts who thought of him as a friend. He was a professor at Middle Tennessee State University and deeply valued the time he spent teaching his students during regular classes and summer field schools. Kevin’s decades of extensive research and publications are respected and well-known. He was especially proud of his role in the state’s acquisition of the Castalian Springs Mound Site and the collaboration that brought together the 2015 Ancestors exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum. Aside from his professional work Kevin had many interests, including gardening, reading, cooking, and music. In 1990, Kevin married Carol Schrysen. Their lasting partnership was based on a deep love of each other and their companion animals. Kevin will be deeply missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and students. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the K.E. and C. Smith Archaeology Fund or the John T. Dowd Student Paper Award (go to mtsu.edu/give, select “other”, and enter the name of either scholarship).