"TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY IS TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD". 2 CORINTHIANS 5:8

RONDEL SHAY SMITH, BORN NOVEMBER 16, 1983, TO LOVELESS SMITH AND BONITA WYNN, ENTERED ETERNAL REST ON DECEMBER 28, 2025.

RONDEL WAS KNOWN FOR HIS WARM SPIRIT, INFECTIOUS SMILE, UNMATCHED WORK ETHIC AND CONTAGIOUS LAUGH THAT COULD LIGHT UP ANY ROOM.

FROM A YOUNG AGE, RONDEL LOVED SPORTS, ESPECIALLY FOOTBALL, AND WAS A LIFELONG DALLAS COWBOYS FAN. HE GREW UP IN WICHITA, KANSAS, SURROUNDED BY A CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY AND SHARED A SPECIAL BOND WITH HIS BROTHER, RYAN RAY. RONDEL ATTENDED SOUTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL IN WICHITA, WHERE HE PROUDLY PLAYED FOOTBALL FOR THE SOUTHEAST BUFFALOES, WEARING THE HONORED NUMBER 27, AND GRADUATED WITH PRIDE.

AS A TEENAGER, RONDEL BEGAN WORKING AT MAMA LOVE'S AND LATER AT THE WICHITA GREYHOUND PARK, WHERE HIS STRONG WORK ETHIC WAS EVIDENT EARLY ON. IF IT WERE POSSIBLE, RONDEL WOULD HAVE WORKED EIGHT DAYS A WEEK. HE LATER BUILT A CAREER AT SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS, A PLACE HE WAS DEEPLY PROUD TO WORK FOR AND REPRESENT.

RONDEL BUILT A LIFE WITH EBONY SMITH, AND TOGETHER THEY WERE BLESSED WITH FOUR BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN: DOMINIQUE SMITH, DELLANY SMITH, DELLAN SMITH, AND DELLANCE SMITH. FAMILY MEANT EVERYTHING TO RONDEL. HE VALUED TIME SPENT BARBECUING, BREEDING DOGS, AND BEING SURROUNDED BY HIS "TILL-DEATH" BROTHERS, FRIENDS, AND COMMUNITY.

FOR OVER TEN YEARS, RONDEL DEDICATED HIMSELF AS A BULLDOGS COACH, MENTORING AND IMPACTING COUNTLESS YOUNG LIVES THROUGH LEADERSHIP, DISCIPLINE, AND LOVE FOR THE GAME. HIS INFLUENCE EXTENDED FAR BEYOND THE FIELD.

RONDEL WILL FOREVER BE REMEMBERED FOR HIS HUMOR, KINDNESS, LOYALTY, AND THE JOY HE BROUGHT TO THOSE AROUND HIM.

HE WAS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY HIS FATHER, LOVELESS SMITH; HIS GRANDMOTHER, OLIVIA WYNN; MATTHEW BOGGUESS; AND HIS UNCLE, PEEWEE WYNN

RONDEL WILL BE HONORED IN A PRIVATE CEREMONY, ALLOWING HIS FAMILY AND LOVED ONES THE TIME AND SPACE TO PROPERLY REST AND SAY THEIR GOODBYES. WE DEEPLY LOVE AND RESPECT ALL FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO HAVE REACHED OUT DURING THIS TIME, WHO CHERISHED RONDEL, AND WHO WILL CARRY HIS MEMORY FORWARD IN THEIR HEARTS.

WE EXTEND OUR GRATITUDE TO AFFORDABLE CREMATION, WICHITA, KANSAS, FOR THEIR CARE AND SUPPORT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, PRAYERS, AND EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE DURING THIS TIME OF LOSS.

"HE HEALS THE BROKENHEARTED AND BINDS UP THEIR WOUNDS." — PSALM 147:3

MAY RONDEL'S LIFE AND MEMORY CONTINUE TO INSPIRE, AND MAY ALL WHO LOVED HIM FIND PEACE AND COMFORT IN BOTH LIFE AND IN THE MEMORIES HE LEAVES BEHIND.