Dennis Smith passes away January 15, 2012 by Arlene Starr and Lanny Starr

My brother passed away Sunday, January 15, 2012 in Salt Lake City. Maxine had e-mailed that he was taken to Timp Hospital Monday night.  She e-mailed an update that he had pneumonia again and they drained 1 1/3 liters of liquid from the space below or under his left lung.  Amy her daughter e-mailed writing "My dad was doing so so until yesterday evening (Friday, Jan. 13).  It turned even worse thru the night.  I had booked a ticket on Thursday morning to go see him thinking he would be doing better if I waited til Sunday and when my mom called this morning (Saturday, Jan 14) she said it would be too late.  They didn't think I would make it.  He held on for me... .  He's always been a hard worker and a fighter.  We've let him know that we love him and Mikey gave him a blessing of comfort and assurance.  His whole body is shutting down.  His kidneys aren't working, he has a cyst on his pancreas, a tumor on his kidney and his intestines slipped down into his hernia.  Thanks for the prayers.  Love Amy."
In the obituary in the newspaper it was written: "He was born Nov 27, 1940 in American Fork to Russell and Ruth Irene Johnson Smith.  He married Maxine Green Oct 7, 1966 in the Salt Lake Temple.  Dennis worked on the family farm, US Steel and retired as the supervisor over Lindon City Parks in 2002.  He loved his family and enjoyed being outdoors with them.
He is survived by his wife Maxine; three children: DeAnn (Kevin) Smith, Amy (Jacob) Kerksiek and Michael(Haley) Smith; 10 grandchildren; siblings: Brent Smith, Joan Hamann, Carol Grosvenor, Arlene Starr and Claudette Hansen.  He was preceded in death by three brothers."
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I would like now to share some of my memories of my brother with you: Not only was he a brother, but he was a good friend as well.  To introduce you to my family, or to reacquaint you with my family, there were three older siblings, Joan, Carol and Calvin then Dennis in the middle, and then me, Brent and Claudette, the three younger ones, one year younger that the other consecutively.  Dennis helped Dad alot on the farm.  He spent a lot of time pruning the fruit trees, grapes, raspberries, dewberries, etc., and spraying the fruit and harvesting it.  He would go to market the fruit with Dad.  After Dad died, (we always called him daddy) Dennis was there for Mom and helped her a great deal.
Dennis loved to tease.  It was a playful tease, never a hurtful tease.   Because he worked so hard so much of the time, it was a good thing that he found a way to relax.  I remember weeding the grapes in the lower field one morning with him.  We had worked all morning and the sun was extremely hot and beating down on us.  We took a break and sat down under an apple tree, talked for a minute or so, and the next thing we knew we were waking up (at least I was).  I remember being completely content with the world around me at that moment and grateful for being alive.  There was beauty in that farm when the fruit buds blossomed in the springtime and you could see acres of pink and white blossoms dotting the orchards.  And for my parents in the early summer and autumn when the fruit made it through the frost and had ripen that was a grateful time.  But the farm also meant lots of work too.
Dennis loved sleeping outside under the stars.  The sky was his roof and the lawn was his bed for the summertime.  He loved the outdoors.
When Lanny entered our family the two of them hit it off well.  They enjoyed doing many of the same things; both liked the outdoors and liked to hunt and camp.  We went for rides, one to southern Utah to Lake Powell; went camping, and played cards.  One particular habit Dennis liked that perhaps was challenging for me was that he was an "early morning riser", and when he was up, then he enjoyed everyone else being up too. 
When we moved to Moses Lake our birthday cards became something of a challenge; who could send the most ridiculous, hilarious card.  I believe he won, not that Lanny and I didn't go searching for good ones, he just found a better source.
Dennis has fought a good fight and Heavenly Father thought it was time for him to come home.  I respect that.  My heart goes out to Maxine, DeAnn, Amy and Michael and their children and spouses who will dearly miss the personal contact and love they had with Dennis.  I speak from experience and I'm sure Lanny would agree that you will never get over missing him, but it will get better.
Lanny and I both miss our parents and refer to them often.  I wish you all the best.  Love, Arlene, Grandma/Auntie A
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By Lanny:
Smith A Few Memories of Uncle Dennis
Dennis was the easiest member of the Smith Family to get to know. What you saw was what you got! There was no put on with Dennis from the beginning and we became good friends right away.
Dennis liked to hunt and I remember one weekend when we took my dad's little camp trailer and drove way out west by Promatory.  The wind was blowing very hard and it took forever to get where we were going.  We got to our destination about 2:00 AM and got in the trailer to get some sleep.  The wind kept rocking the trailer so we didn't get a lot of sleep.  Finally morning came and the wind quit and we enjoyed a good day of hunting.
Another memory happened when Dennis bought a new pickup.  We filled the truck with gas and also filled a 5-gallon gas can.  Dennis wanted to find out just how far he could go on a full tank of gas.  We drove all over, even going up into Idaho and Wyoming.  We were on our way back and only a few miles from Lindon when the truck started to stutter and then stop.  We had run out of gas right in the middle of a narrow bridge and had traffic stopped from both directions.  We jumped out and put in the 5-galon can, then waved to everyone as we drove by.  It was a good trip.
Arlene had stayed with her mother in Lindon while I was in Viet Nam, so when I got back we wanted to do something for her mother.  One day she stated that she would like to lower the ceiling in her living room.  We had to practically kidnap her but she finally went with us to the hardware store where we purchased the materials.  Dennis agreed to help me put it up.  I don't think anyone in the Smith family had a lot of faith in Dennis and my talents as carpenters but we had a lot of fun working together while Mom held her breath hoping we knew what we were doing.  It turned out fine and I think Mom enjoyed it for the rest of her life.
Dennis like to tease and so did I.  We enjoyed teasing each other as well as others around us.  He could take it as good as he gave.
Dennis and I didn't get to see alot of each other during the latter part of our lives as Arlene and I moved to Moses Lake, WA.  We did however stay in touch with birthday and Christmas cards and a few phone calls.  Arlene and I called him on his last birthday and although I'm sure he wasn't in the best of health he sounded like the same old Dennis.  He was a good brother-in-law and my friend.  I will miss him.
Lanny Starr

Dennis Ralph Smith

Maxine Green Smith

Jacob, Amy and children

Amy, Russell and Elizabeth

Michael and Haley

Dennis' siblings:
Arlene, Dennis, Calvin, Brent, Claudette, Carol and Joan

 

 

Earlier picture:  Brent, Carol, Calvin, Irene, Russell Joan
middle: Claudette, Arlene, and Dennis

Playing cards
Dennis, Lanny
front: Richelle and Maxine

Target practice
Dennis and Lanny



Dennis waving goodbye