R. Kenneth Smith (1925-2012)

SMITH, HART, MAXWELL, DUFFY

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 8/13/2012 at 21:12:42

From Kruse-Phillips Funeral Homes obituary, Tama, Tama County, Iowa.

TAMA- R. Kenneth Smith, 86, passed away February 4, 2012 in Chandler, AZ formerly of Tama, IA. A memorial service will be held Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 11:00 AM at Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home in Tama. Interment with military honors will follow at Oak Hill cemetery in Tama. Friends may call at the funeral home from 10:00 AM until the time of service. He was born November, 15, 1925, on his parents’ farm, Ed and Susie Hart Smith in rural Colo, Iowa. He served honorably in the U.S. Navy on the USS ABATAN in the South Pacific and China during WWII. After the service, Kenneth met his life- long love of over sixty years, Frances Arlene Maxwell and married December 7, 1947. The couple farmed, raised hogs, Herford feeder cattle, and milked Holstein dairy cattle many years southeast of Colo, IA until the mid-70’s. The couple loved to host foreign exchange students from Iowa State on their farm. Frances was a crafts person with materials and flowers and Ken was a crafts person with stellar crops and lean market ready animals. After farming, he was an agriculture inspector for the Iowa Department of Agriculture where he retired. Ken loved to kid people and loved animals. His son will remember him squirting milk into a ready line of cats’ mouths while milking cows. His son once asked him, “Why do we have to work so hard to get the weeds out of the corn rows?” His dad replied, “Because people will know that it is my corn field.” Ken was a member of the American Legion and Masonic Lodge. His parents, his wife, Frances; and five sisters and brothers preceded him in death. He is survived by his only child, Dr. Kenneth Smith, Chandler, AZ, and one sister, Zola Duffy of Iowa Falls. Memorials may be directed to the R. Kenneth Smith Memorial, c/o Lincoln Savings Bank, 214 W. 4th St., Tama, IA 52339. Contributions will be donated to the South Tama School District’s FFA.