SMITH, DON A.
Don Abel Smith of Layton, Utah died peacefully at home on Monday, August 25, 2003. It was as he would have wished it to be. He has entrusted the care of his beloved wife, Arlene Mann, to his children and grandchildren, whom he loved so well. All his other cares he has happily left behind.
Born on May 25th, 1925 to Henry Giles and Dora Hadley Smith, he never stopped calling Farmington, Utah his home.
From that humble beginning he went on to live a remarkable life. Leaving his high school education incomplete for a time, he bravely answered the call for young men of courage and stepped up for duty as a United States Marine following the attack on Pearl Harbor and our country’s entry into World War II. He fought through the hell of the Pacific Arena and was twice a recipient of a Purple Heart.
He returned home at the war’s end to find the girl he loved and had left behind waiting patiently for him. Claiming her forever as his own, he and Arlene were married in the Salt Lake Temple four months later on January 16, 1946. They were blessed with two children, a daughter Rosemary, or “Smitty,” of Hooper, and a son, Don M., of Salem, Utah.
Never a man content to be still, he extended his influence to many through his associations at church, in the workplace, and through his gift with animals. A natural with horses, his name came to be well known and respected throughout the intermountain area.
Of special note are his grandchildren to whom he was deeply committed. Troy and Todd Anderson and their sister, Tisa Helmick, Smitty’s children and now parents in their own right, have long introduced their grandfather as their dad. It is now their privilege to live out their lives in honor of all he taught them, following his excellent example.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, August 28, 2003 at 1:00 at the Rock Chapel, 272 North Main, Farmington, Utah. Friends may call Wednesday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Russon Brothers Bountiful Mortuary, 295 North Main or Thursday morning from 11:45 – 12:45 at the chapel.