Gayle Richard Smith 1950-1971

SMITH, JOHNSON, CROUCH

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 3/3/2012 at 02:07:26

An Estherville man, Gayle Richard Smith, 20, was one of at least 10 Iowans who died on the state’s highways in traffic accidents over the weekend.

Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Smith of Estherville, died Saturday night when the vehicle which he was driving struck a bridge abutment on U.S. 30 two miles west and 1 ½ miles south of Melvin.

Funeral services for Smith were held at the Calvary Baptist Church in Estherville at 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 30, with burial in East Side Cemetery.

The Fuhrman Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Gayle received his education in the Estherville public schools and graduated from Estherville High School in 1968. He had attended Iowa Lakes Community College for one year and was employed as a special deputy for the Northwest Iowa Drug Enforcement Bureau.

He is survived by his parents, Ted and Deloris Smith; one brother, Ronald, of Northglen, Colo.; one sister, Mrs. Duane (Joyce) Johnson, Stillwater, Minn.; his paternal [maternal] grandmother, Mrs. Anna Crouch, Wessington Springs, S.D.; and his maternal [paternal] grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Ballard of Washington Springs.

Pallbearers included Robert Bringle, J.B. Cutsinger, Don Faust, Mike Kelch, Dick Mataloni and George Sleeper. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, August 30, 1971)

Young Narcotics Agent is Killed When Car Hits Bridge
Gayle Smith, one of the narcotics agents who worked with Plymouth county authorities for some three months in the drug raid here in December, 1969, was killed Saturday morning when his car struck a bridge abutment on highway 59 about 4 miles north of Melvin.

Authorities said Gayle Smith, 20, Estherville, driver of the car, was thrown from the vehicle and pinned beneath it.

Bruce Kerry, 20, of Carlisle, a passenger in the car was injured and taken to the Sibley hospital.

He suffered back and possible internal injuries.

Kerry was in serious condition Sunday night in the intensive care unit at McKennan hospital, Sioux Falls. He was taken to the Sioux Falls hospital Sunday morning from the Sibley hospital.

Young Smith was a state narcotics agent at the time he worked in Le Mars, but now was employed by the Northwest Iowa Narcotics Bureau, according to sheriff Ed Guntren.

A number of law enforcement officers from here attended funeral services for young Smith Monday afternoon at Calvary Baptist church, Estherville. Burial was in Eastside cemetery, Estherville.

Smith was born Oct. 12, 1950, at Estherville. He was never married.

Survivors are his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ted R. Smith of Estherville; a brother, Ronald of Northglenn, Colo.; a sister, Mrs. Duane Johnson of Stillwater, Minn.; his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Anna Crouch of Wessington Springs, S.D., and his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Ballard Smith of Wessington Springs, S.D. (LeMars Daily Sentinel, LeMars, IA, August 30, 1971)

Drug Enforcement Agent for N.W. Iowa Killed in Accident
Gayle Smith, 20, of Estherville, was killed in a one-car accident on U.S. Highway 59 about 1 ½ miles north of the Melvin turnoff about 2:30 am. Saturday.

Smith, who was driving the car, was thrown out and pinned beneath it, Osceola County Sheriff Otto Scheu said.

Smith was employed by the Northwest Iowa Drug Enforcement Bureau, a six-county organization set up to pursue drug violations. He was to have been the primary witness in the case against the eight persons arrested in the Spirit Lake – Okoboji area from June 27 to July 5. Three of the five men were charged with sale of a controlled substance and the rest were charged with possession.

Drug charges against the eight persons have been dropped because of the death of Mr. Smith. (Rock Valley Bee, Rock Valley, IA, September 2, 1971)