Gary Leroy Smith was born on May 17th, 1940 at the family home of Bud & Pearl Smith in Mervin, Sask. He quietly slipped away on August 1st, 2015 while residing at the Pine Island Lodge in Maidstone. When Gary was young the family moved to North Battleford, then onto Glaslyn, and finally settled on the West Coast. He always enjoyed his cars, his ‘51 Meteor, and his ‘53 - 2 door coupe, to name a couple. He always fixed them himself. Being a true prairie boy, he was never really content in B.C., so he ventured back to his roots in Glaslyn, where he met the love of his life, Marilyn Ferguson. They married in November 1962. Their first two children were born in Turtleford; Sandra in 1963, and Dale in 1964. The following year, they joined Gary's family back at the west coast. Barbara was born in 1966 in Abbotsford, BC. Every summer included a trip back to the Turtle Lake area to visit Marilyn's family. Gary was always a lover of sports. Playing and coaching ball and hockey occupied his spare time. Gary was a scrappy hockey player, and always told Dale he needed one goal, one assist, and one good scrap per game. Gary was a truck driver at heart, hauling feed, grain, concrete, anhydrous, fuel, and oil at different stages in his career. His trucking career took him all over Western Canada from Vancouver Island, north to Alaska and the Yukon, south to High River, and back home to Lashburn. He was a travelling man and loved to roam, pulling the old camper trailer up and down the road. Ask Sandy about some of the wondrous back country roads they travelled and the endless supply of gravel that was needed. Black Mountain ranch was our favorite destination. Thirteen years later, in 1978, the family headed back to the prairies and settled in Maidstone. Gary carried on the tradition of trucking and travelling, and Gary and Marilyn enjoyed a trip to Finland and Sweden in 1984 to watch Barb play hockey on the international stage. Unfortunately his driving career was cut short in May 2001, when he suffered a devastating stroke while on the road. Marilyn cared for Gary at the Pine Island Lodge apartments in Maidstone for a few years until his health required that he move into Pine Island Lodge. Marilyn passed away in 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Gary resided at the Lodge until his passing. He was always happy, upbeat, calling bingo, and four fouring everyone until his health would no longer permit it. He will be sadly missed by us all. Pre-deceased by his: Wife, Marilyn Smith; Father, Leslie (Bud) Smith. Survived by his: children: Sandra (Terry) Wiltermuth, Dale Smith, and Barbara (Christopher) Aitken; grandchildren: Tyson (Brittany) Buckley, Jason Buckley, Dustin (Karissa) Buckley, Lacy (Jody) Heidel, Lana (Josh) Regnier, Niomi Evenson Ryan Smith, Samantha Smith, Sean Aitken, Jenna Aitken; great grandchildren: Ben and Cam Buckley, Kayle and Korben Heidel, Hayden Regnier; mother: Pearl Smith; brother: Wayne Smith; and sisters: Sharon Shols, Maureen (David) Cooper.
CARD OF THANKS
Thank you to Marshall's Funeral Home for the care and compassion as well as Ean Kasper for his words of condolence; to the Pine Island Lodge staff for caring for Gary all these years. Thanks to the Maidstone Legion members for carrying out the Honor Guard and the Maidstone Hospital Auxiliary Ladies for the lunch. A special thank you to our family and friends for your support during this difficult time. The Gary Smith family.
