Mark Robin Smiley's Obituary
Mark Robin Smiley
1960 – 2020
Mark Robin Smiley passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, August 1, 2020, after suffering pancreatic cancer. Robin was surrounded by friends and family in his Orem, Utah home.
Robin was born in Prineville, OR on March 27, 1960 to Mark Fisher Smiley and Mary Martha Johnson. Robin spoke fondly of his time growing up, relishing memories of baking with his mother, learning his love of nature from his father, and hiking in southern Utah with his friends.
Robin served in the Belgium Antwerp Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. While serving, he met his wife-to-be, Elaine. Robin and Elaine were married on August 15, 1981 in the Los Angeles Temple. Robin studied at Dixie College, Utah Technical College, Brigham Young University. He graduated from Utah Valley Community College with his Radiology Technician degree. He then attended Weber State University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Nuclear Medicine. He worked for Utah Valley Hospital (UVRMC) for 37 years as an X-Ray Technician and Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Robin loved nature, which he enjoyed through gardening, hiking, camping, rock climbing, mining, geode hunting, rafting, and spelunking. Robin was an avid reader and often read several books a week, enjoying nonfiction accounts of hunters, explorers, and naturalists, as well as works of science fiction, epic fantasy, and poetry. Robin’s love for the written word extended to his abilities as a gifted writer and journalist, with which he detailed his life, wrote poems, penned surprise letters to his wife, and crafted imaginative works of fiction. Robin loved to sing and enjoyed sharing his tenor voice with many ward choirs. Board games, card games, computer games, and puzzles of all kinds were a rich and constant source of pleasure, which Robin actively sought out and shared with friends and family. Robin was also a skilled woodworker, who delighted in whittling figures, cutting intricate jigsaw puzzles, piecing together different colors and types of wood, and making gifts for his family and friends. Robin had an incredible sense of humor, and loved making people laugh. He was witty, slightly irreverent, and wry. “No dragons to kill/ just a house to clean/somehow I would have/rather fought the dragon”
Family Members to List
Robin is survived by his wife, Elaine, their 6 children and their spouses (Jess and Mikelle, Christopher and Emily, Jonathon, Cameron and Tiffanee, Andrew and Rhylee, and Sarah and Eduardo) and 11 grandchildren (Noah, Evelyn, Grace, Britta, André, Roscoe, Samuel, Leilani Ella, Claire, Eli and James) as well as Robin’s brother, Dan, and his sister, Susan.
Robin is preceded in death by his parents, Mark and Mary, his sister, Barbara, and nephew, James.
Graveside services will be 12:00 Noon, Monday, August 10, 2020 at the Orem City Cemetery, 1520 North 800 East, Orem, UT with a viewing prior to services from 10:00 to 11:30 am at Premier Funeral Services, 1160 North 1200 West, Orem, UT.
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