Ray Eugene "Gene" Smith (2009)

DANNER, MCMURRY, SMITH

Posted By: Mary Welty Hart
Date: 5/21/2009 at 15:37:40

Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

RAY SMITH, Melcher

Ray Eugene “Gene” Smith, 87, of Melcher died May 18, 2009, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 22, at Kale Funeral Home in Osceola. Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery, also in Osceola. Visitation will be Thursday, with family present from 6–8 p.m. Memorials may be directed to Dallas Christian Church or the Melcher-Dallas Fire & Rescue.

Gene Smith was born May 4, 1922, to William and Melva Smith of rural High Point in Decatur County. While a youth, he moved with his family to rural Millerton where he graduated from Millerton High School as class valedictorian. In 1943, Gene began his service in the United States Navy, serving aboard the U.S.S. Kretchmer in both the European and Pacific theaters. Following the end of the war, his ship rescued prisoners of war off the island of Formosa. His marriage to Betty Anne Danner took place Aug. 27, 1947. From 1950 to 1962, they lived and farmed in Clarke County. In 1962, the family moved to Winterset, then to Shelbina, Mo., in 1971 before retiring to Melcher in 1992. Gene worked for many years with farm supply sales — employed by Reed’s of Truro and Reed’s of Winterset, followed by MFA in Shelbina, Paris, Clarence and LaBelle, Mo. He had been involved with Boy Scouts and Little League and was a member of the Dallas Christian Church since 1992.

He was preceded in death by a son, Steve, and a brother, Vere.

He is survived by his wife, Betty, of Melcher; four sons, Lyle, Mark, Brian, and Bruce; one daughter, Fran; a sister, Lois McMurry of Chariton; and four grandchildren.

Gravesite
 

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