Dwight Merle Smith's Obituary
Dwight Merle Smith “Babe”, born October 12, 1928 in Platteville, Colorado, passed away May 31, 2022 in Layton, Utah.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William Alfred, and Hannah Jane Smith, his 3 brothers, Bill, Vernon (Jiggs), Ransom, his sister June (Sis) and his son Steve Smith.
Dwight is survived by his wife Jackie J. Smith, son Stan Smith,
6 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and 1 great great granddaughter.
After joining the Navy at age 19, Dwight served 2 tours of duty. He served on the Destroyer “USS Frank Knox” around the time of the Korean War. Dwight’s family lost Vernon on the aircraft carrier Lexington when it was torpedoed during World War II. His other brother, Ransom, survived the attack on the same ship.
Dwight met his sweetheart, Jackie, on a blind date and the two have been inseparable, ever since. They celebrated their 73rd Wedding Anniversary on March 6th this year.
They lived in Denver where they were blessed with 2 sons. He worked Civil Service in Colorado and moved to Utah in 1959. He retired from Hill AFB after 25 years.
He and his family enjoyed participating in Square Dancing at various places around the region. He liked to keep busy with his many hobbies, which included woodworking, building R/C aircraft and cars, small engine repair, and leather craft. He would volunteer to teach leather craft at many schools around the region. He was also very creative making beautiful designs and earrings on his embroidery machine. He enjoyed researching Family History. He loved to go fishing and passed that passion on to his two sons.
Later in life, Babe and Jackie would spend time traveling south during the winter and camping at Big River. They enjoyed being snowbirds for a while.
He loved to drive his car with Jackie as his navigator. They would go to lunch at the Golden Corral or Chuck-a-Rama on a daily basis. They loved the social aspect and it was always important to them to spend time with old and new friends.
It was very hard for him to have to give up driving at age 92, after they moved into an Assisted Living at Sunridge in Layton.
The family would like to thank the caregivers at Sunridge and the compassionate care he received from Applegate Hospice.
A Graveside Service will be held Saturday, June 4, at 11:00 am at the Roy City Cemetery.
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