Michael A. Smith

Michael A. Smith, 50, passed away on Dec. 16, 2011, in Seton Medical Center's ICU, Austin, Texas. Mike was born in Nevada, Mo., on Feb. 14, 1961. He attended school in Nevada and graduated from Nevada High School.

Mike enlisted in the U.S. Army and attended the Military Language School in San Francisco, Calif., where he became fluent in German. Upon completion, he was assigned to Army Intelligence where he served both in the U.S. and in Germany. Following his honorable discharge in 1986, he attended Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., obtaining a bachelors of science in computer science. During his career he was employed by IBM, CCMail and was one of the founders of Altawave. He was serving as Senior Software Engineer at Anue' Systems, Inc., Austin, Texas, at his death.

Mike is survived by his life partner of 17 years, R. Paul Lowry, Austin, Texas; his father, Eugene Smith, Nevada; two brothers, Dennis Smith, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Kenneth Smith, Tyler, Texas; and five nieces and two nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Lucille Smith, and by his sister, Katheryn Robbins.

Honoring his wishes, there will be no memorial services. In lieu of flowers, donations are to be made to the Austin or National Chapter of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASCPA) in his name.

Arrangements made by All Faiths Funeral Services, Austin, Texas, (512) 339-8878.