The Founder

Tonia Smith

“You never know how strong you are until strong is

the only choice you have.” - Bob Marley

Thank You All for your prayers and support.

He had just brought me a Pepsi….that was the first time I had ever seen a 16 oz soda can. He stood there in my office with one hand on his taser and one hand on his gun. He was wearing the wooden watch that I had given him that September for our 16th wedding anniversary. We was smiling and laughing with the ladies in the office. We were telling them about our weekend trip to New Orleans. We had just gotten back the night before.

He had a meeting in Sumter with SLED that day. He was gonna be late. He was gonna be late because he remembered he promised to bring me a Pepsi and wanted to keep that promise. So he came by my office to bring me a pepsi. He turned to leave, he hit the top of the frame of my office door and said...See Ya, Sweetie. Sometimes, when I am sitting at my desk, I can still see him standing there, so fine, smelling so good, in his royal blue work shirt. I love him in that royal blue shirt. And he walked away…..that was the last time I saw him with the breath of God in his body.

On November 5, 2014, at 2:16 in the afternoon Holmes sent me a text. A text he sent almost daily. It was a simple text. It said, “Hows was your day Sweetie.” I didn’t respond right away. It was nearly 2 hours later when I responded. I regret that now. That I did not respond when I saw that text. I was busy working, I was gonna respond later when I had a minute. When I did respond, it was too late. At 2:23pm, that same afternoon, my husband was in a car accident and was killed. He had sent me a text at 2:16, and less than 10 minutes later, he was gone.

The next time I saw him, he appeared to be asleep…..they said he was gone, but he just appeared to be asleep. They said he was no longer with us…. But he just appeared to be asleep. They said there had been a single car fatal accident and he had passed, but he just appeared to be asleep. I asked him to get up….. To prove to them that they were wrong. To show them that we were too young for this to be true. We have babies. They need you. Get up, Homie! Wake Up, Homie! I know you are just sleeping…….

...Holmes had a servant spirit. He was kind, loving and gentle. Even while wearing the Kevlar and carrying his gun, he new his work was a ministry. We want to continue his legacy of service through the creation of the Foundation. It is our goal to serve our county as a resource to meet the needs of our citizens and fill in the gap where some services are lacking.

We are also here to support our local Law Enforcement Agencies and the survivors of Law Enforcement Officers.

I thank God for His promise, “ Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”


About Our Founder

Tonia Mallett Smith is the Executive Director and Founder of The Inv. Holmes N. Smith, Jr Foundation, Inc. Her late husband, Inv. Smith was killed in the line of duty on November 5, 2014. They were married 16 years and had a beautiful family.

Mrs. Smith is a 1990 graduate of Manning High School and a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina. She has been employed with Clarendon School District Two as a Grant Administrator for 15 years.