Zone 197 is deeply saddened to report the passing of member Lavar Smith on Saturday, February 13, 2021. Information is as follows:
Lavar Donte Smith (Goodie) was born in Harlem Hospital on March 5th, 1977 to the Late Mildred LaJuana Smith who loved him dearly. He gained his wings and transitioned to the other side at the young age of 43 to be warmly welcomed by his mother on February 13th,2021 in Albany, NY. Lavar was collectively raised by his mother’s sisters. During his transition from a young boy into the early manhood portion of his life he lived with his auntie momma Jeannie.
Lavar grew up in happy homes full of fun, laughter, good food and tons of cousins. All of his cousins and his uncle considered Lavar to be their brother, so much that they have a special name for Lavar which was ‘’Brother-cousin’’. Lavar was a well-rounded take no shorts type of person, his life experiences helped to mold and shape the great man that he was.
Lavar graduated from Burlington Township High School in NJ and went on to attend Manhattan Community College. He tried his hand at several different professions such as working for UPS, Bridge & Tunnel, working as a phlebotomist for the Red Cross & lastly he became a certified welder and was a part of the the Albany local 197 chapter Boilermakers Union, where he excelled in this hard-working man’s profession of joining fire with steel and creating strong structures & foundations for buildings all over NY. However, Lavar was an entrepreneur by heart. In 2019, Lavar successfully launched DontePleasures.com, But Lavar’s true passion in which he also lovingly pursued was animal breeding. Lavar owned and founded MackBengals inc. , which he bred beautiful Bengal cats and was in the beginning stages of breeding his Mack Frenchie dogs. This was his true passion in life, he loved all kinds of animals. The other love of his life more importantly was his family! Lavar proudly wore his Family Matters tattoo which represented the love he had for all his surviving family members, who in return reciprocated the love back to him and Lavars greatest achievement of them all was being a loving & devoted father.
Lavar met a beautiful young lady and lifelong friend by the name of Danial and they blessed us with Lavar’s firstborn child, the beautiful, smart, & kind princess Ladaizah. As life would have it later down the line Lavar would marry the phenomenal Ms.Tashunla for 15 years and he would bless his family again with 3 more heartbeats, the handsome charming Kyeshaun, his second charming Prince Kavar, and the Ms.She Runs Things around here, Empress Tailah. Lavar would also go on to bless his family with 2 more lovely children, Sweet Egypt and his Baby boy Jaheim.
Lavar is survived by his children, Mothers of Children, His Aunt’s; Irene, Earlene, Jeannie , Lisa, Trina and Uncle Kayo (Tamara). First cousins Helena, Darlene, Jumel (Saymoe), Derick (NaKia), Jared, Calvin, Jason and a host of 2nd &3rd cousins, girlfriend Telisha, Cousins Stephen & Logo, The Ellis family, close family and friends. Lavar was preceded in death by his grandparents Arthur and Juanita Smith, Uncle Warren, Cousin Charron, Mama Diane & Aunt Beverly.
His sudden passing has shaken the core of our very close-knit family, but we know if Lavar were still here with us he would say ‘’Alright now, we good’’ in a true GOODIE MACK type of way.
WE LOVE YOU AND WILL MISS YOU DEARLY VARDY HARDY – WRITTEN BY JUMEL STUART
Please visit the Forever Missed website for details on the service which will be live-streamed via Facebook and Zoom.
1st Viewing: Friday, February, 26th from 5pm-8pm at Herbert T. McCall Funeral Home – 948 PROSPECT AVE , BRONX NY 10459
2nd Viewing: Saturday, February 27th from 10am-12pm at Epworth United Methodist Church – 834 Concourse Village E, BRONX NY 10451. SERVICE TO FOLLOW AT 12PM.
Repass will follow directly after services on Saturday, Feb27th. Venue is a 6 min drive away from the church: at TS Space NY, 467 E 157TH ST. BRONX NY 10451. From 2PM-6PM. ALL ARE WELCOME! WE WILL CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF LAVAR WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, FOOD, AND SPECIAL TRIBUTES.
*UNDER NYC LAWS ALL IS REQUIRED TO WEAR A FACE MASK DURING THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE EVENTS AND EVERYONE MAY BE SUBJECT TO A TEMP CHECK*