Robert Smith

Robert E. Smith, 77, of Greenfield, died Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, at the Community Care Center in Stuart.

Celebration of Life Services were held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at the Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield with burial at 12:30 p.m. in the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. Full military graveside rites were held by the Greenfield American Legion Head-Endres Post No. 265, V.F.W. Post No. 5357 and Navy Military Honors. Pastor Melinda Stonebraker officiated the service. The Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield is in charge of the professional arrangements.

Memorials may be made to the Tunnel to Tower Foundation. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.

Robert Eugene Smith was born Sept. 2, 1946, the son of Norral and Margaret (Jensen) Smith in Greenfield. He was the fourth child born and his parents thought it was great to now have two sons and two daughters. After living in Greenfield, the family bought a farm north of Orient and the children grew up with the benefits of life on the farm: dogs, cats, horses, chickens and all the rest. Mother made sure all the kids took Red Cross swim lessons, so Bob and sister, Sharon, spent many summer afternoons at the Greenfield pool. Another highlight of summer were the neighborhood hot dog roasts the many kids enjoyed very much.

Bob attended school in Orient until right before his junior year when his parents sold the farm and moved to Exira for one year. After a move to Corning, Bob completed his senior year, graduating with the class of 1964. He played football and was quite good at it. Bob loved the guitar and saved up for a year to buy his first one.

The summer after graduation, Bob worked construction on Highway 34, building bridges and then helping build an education center in the Corning Methodist Church. In October of that year, Bob enlisted in the Navy and served his country for four years. He served on a refrigerator cargo ship, the U.S.S. Pictor, which was based in the far east near Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

In October 1968, he completed his service with an honorable discharge as E-5 Petty Officer 2nd Class. He worked in Atlantic for one year and then moved to California to enroll at the San Francisco Heald Engineering School. From there he worked for both Black & Veatch from Overland Park, Kansas, and Bechtel from San Francisco, California, and Maryland on power plant jobs in the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Papua, New Guinea.

During one of those jobs, he contracted dengue fever, a mosquito borne viral illness many people do not survive. Some of the power plants were nuclear and some were conventional. His job was working as the startup manager. Bob was working in Taiwan Sept. 11, 2001, and saw the attacks on our country on T.V. This helped him to make the decision to return to the United States after finishing the job in Taiwan in 2002.

For a time, Bob owned a flight courier and small plane rental business in Goodyear, Arizona. He enjoyed flying his own planes, especially his Mooney.

Eventually he returned to Greenfield and started his screen printing and heat transfers business on the northwest corner of the square, “All Digital Wear.” He ran the business until 2018, when he sold the building.

He enjoyed apartment living for a time, but he developed COPD which took its toll. His final few years he lived in care centers in Greenfield, Anita and Stuart. He enjoyed NASCAR, Hawkeye football, Republican politics, keeping up with his old Navy and work friends and his extended family.

About four years ago, during one of his hospitalizations, Bob called on the Lord to save him and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Jens Christian and Laura Jensen and William Louis and Elizabeth Smith; parents; brother, James Louis Smith in 2022; brother-in-law, Wayne Jensen; sisters-in-law, Barbara Smith and Betty Smith; nephews, Daniel Smith and Jason Smith; many aunts, uncles and cousins.

He is survived by his siblings: Shirley Jensen of Atlantic, Sharon (Roger) Sorensen of Corning, Ron Smith of Greenfield and Connie (Paul) Nolan of Lampe, Missouri; nephews: Doug (Becky) Jensen, Eric (Wendy) Sorensen, Chad Sorensen (Nicole) and David Smith; nieces, Randee (Chip) Bulla, Kelli (Andy) Kerkhoff, Sarah Burke, Heidi (Aaron) Hiebert and Holly (Steve) Houg; 17 great-nieces and -nephews; cousins: Darrell (Wilda) Jensen, Wayne Jensen and Marie Allard; other relatives and friends.

Those we love can never be more than a thought away, for as long as there’s a memory, they live in our hearts to stay.