Richard "Dick" Smith Sr., age 78, died suddenly on December 19, 2010, in Brewster, WA. He was a longtime resident of both Brewster and Manson. He spent most of his life serving his country proudly in the United States Army and the United States Air Force for 23 years. He served two tours in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. He was born in Astoria, SD on December 5, 1932, to Ernest & Caroline Smith. In March of 1957, he met and married the love of his life, his bride, Ivonne "Ivy." For almost 54 years they were each other's "everything." They had four children, 11 grandchildren and numerous great- grandchildren. He attended Fort Steilacoom Community College, where he was elected Student Body President as a 42 year old, the oldest, at the time he was elected. Following his graduation in Business Management, he bought a grocery store in Manson, WA in 1976, and called it Smitty's Country Store. He then bought a second business, which was also in Manson, called Manson Bay Union, just down the street from the grocery store. Following the sale of his businesses, he became a WSDA fruit inspector and did this type of work until retiring in 1992. He was a very active member of the American Legion and he and Ivy traveled extensively for this. He held most Post level offices, Department level and was National Executive Committeeman for the Department of Washington for two years. He proudly held the position of department Committeeman for the Washington Special Olympics for 20 years, with Ivy at his side helping. He and Ivy were elected as Mr. and Mrs. Legionnaire 2001-02; Legion Family Couple for 2002-2005; he was Post Commander for many years at Manson and Columbia Post 97 in Brewster; Department Commander for the American Legion 1994-95; and he and Ivy both held the offices of National Executive Committeeman & National Executive Committeewoman for Washington for the first time as a couple. Dick truly enjoyed fishing and playing games and spent many hours sharing the love of these with friends and family.

He is survived by his wife, Ivy of Brewster; sons, Richard of Brewster and Daniel of Florida; daughters, Deborah (Craig) Monette of Chelan and Rebecca of Brewster; also, his siblings, Roger, Rita, Regis, Ronny and Ruth Ellen "Ellie." He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Randy; sister, Roseanne; and infant son, Donald.

Memorial Services will be held at the American Legion Columbia Post 97 in Brewster, WA on January 3, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. with dinner to follow. Internment will be at Mount Tahoma National Cemetery at a later date.