Gaylen Lee Smith, 70 of Sioux Falls entered eternal life on Friday, November 10th at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD.
Gaylen was born in Soldier, Iowa on August 26, 1947 to Donald and Doris (Young) Smith. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1965.
Gaylen was proud to have served his country as a U.S. Marine Corp Infantryman, enlisting in 1966. He was awarded The Purple Heart after being wounded in action in Vietnam. He was medically discharged in 1968. He met and married Linda Giggee in January 1969. They had two sons, Rory and Randy.
Gaylen attended The University of South Dakota in Springfield, graduating in 1973 with a degree in Electronics Engineering and moved to Minneapolis. He and his family moved to Garretson, SD in 1976 where he owned Garretson Electronics. While in Garretson, he served in the American Legion and was a volunteer fireman.
As an Electronics engineer, Gaylen worked alongside his son Rory at E. F. Johnson in Waseca, MN from 2000 to 2006. He traveled the country and abroad as part of that job. While living in Waseca, Gaylen and Connie enjoyed spending time with their grandkids, living by the lake and boating/fishing on the lake.
Gaylen met the love of his life, Connie. They were married September 20th, 1997. They shared many happy memories riding motorcycle or touring the country in their RV and fishing along the way.
He enjoyed daily trips to the grocery store, cooking, and talking to anyone. He made friends wherever he went. He always put others before himself. He loved entertaining and family parties, but most of all he loved each and every one of his grandkids and great grandkids. They all had a special place in his heart and now have a very special guardian angel.
Gaylen had a deep faith in God and had a passion for spreading The Word of Christ to friends and family. He was a longtime member of the Good News Reformed Church in Sioux Falls where he was an elder and volunteered for many activities. He especially enjoyed the annual chili cook off at church and trying to beat his rival, Brian.
Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Connie, two sons Rory (Diana) Smith of Blackhawk, SD; Randy (Rita) Smith of Sioux Falls. Two grandchildren Kaitlin Smith and Khyler Smith of Brookings, SD. Five stepchildren Brenda (Brian) Tyrrell of Garretson, SD; Lynette (Mark) Reekers of Sioux Center, IA; Mindy Voss of Harrisburg, SD; Clark (Sonja) Muhlenkort of Harrisburg, SD; Jo Lee (Robert) DeNunzio of Henderson, NV. 17 step grandkids, 36 step great grandkids. Brothers Warren (Carol) Smith of Council Bluffs, IA and Roger (Pearl) Smith of Green Valley, AZ. Sister in law Jane Cowan of Blaine, MN and brother in law Kent Smith of Evansville, IN. Many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Many many memories were shared with Bob Nelson, friend of 47 years, and his wife Virginia.
His parents, two brothers, Norman and Delbert Smith, one sister Marilyn Merrick, preceded him in death.
Memorial service to be held Saturday, November 25th at 1:00 PM at Good News Reform Church, 1800 S. Valley View Road Sioux Falls, SD.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the memorial service.
