BIBB COUNTY, Alabama -- Ricky Paul Smith, 55, of Brent died when the vehicle he and nephew Shannon Hicks were in was blown off U.S. 82 in the Bibb County community of Eoline. His nephew survived.
"I hate it. It's just hard to take," said his brother, John David Smith of Centreville.
Ricky's Saturday memorial service at Cahaba Historical Park was the fifth time John had to mourn a sibling's passing. There were 14 siblings in the family. Now there are nine.
In November 2002, two of their sisters died in a car accident on Alabama 25 in Bibb County when their Jeeps collided, John said. One sister from Centreville was in one vehicle and the other sister and her husband from Montevallo were in another when the two hit head-on just south of Montevallo. The family speculated that they were en route to see each other.
Ricky Smith was a logger who was the father of three and the grandfather of one, according to his obituary.