Our beloved husband, father, brother, and grandfather passed away June 5, 2024, after a brief illness. As his family we were fortunate to be able to surround him as he graduated from this life and returned to the presence of our Savior.
Bob was born September 9, 1945, in Cedar City, Utah, the second of three sons of Jacob Vurge Smith and Mary Mezek. From his parents Bob inherited a sharp mind and an extraordinary work ethic. His mom was the daughter of Slovenian immigrants, and he was proud of that heritage as well as his southern Utah ancestry on his dad's side. He loved the mountains, canyons, and valleys of southern Utah.
He graduated from Cedar City High School and then attended the College of Southern Utah, at the time a two-year school. His love of math led him to study civil engineering. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in that field from the University of Utah.
Bob married Kathie Knell of Newcastle, Utah, on June 18, 1968, in the St. George Temple. They had four boys, whom they loved dearly. Their family moved from Utah to Virginia to Utah to California and then back to Utah. They raised their family primarily in the North Canyon area of Bountiful. Kathie and Bob later divorced.
After several years as a single man, Bob was delighted to meet someone as beautiful, kind, and enthusiastic as Kathleen Blank Pusey. They married on March 8, 2002, and later were sealed in the Bountiful Temple. Bob became part of Kathleen's large and active family, whom he loved very much, and Kathleen loved and supported Bob's children. Bob and Kathleen were grandparents to one another's grandchildren. Together Bob and Kathleen were generous and welcoming and formed very much the center of activities for their family.
Bob was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and served four years of active duty at Newport News, Virginia. He remained in the Navy Reserve into the 1990s, reaching the rank of captain. Bob loved the Fourth of July and the American flag and the values those things represented.
Bob was employed as a civilian for close to three decades as a civil engineer by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He worked mostly at Hill Air Force Base in Utah but also had significant assignments in Tooele, Utah, and in Moscow, Russia, focused on the safe destruction of chemical weapons. After taking early retirement from the federal government, he worked nearly another two decades for private construction companies in Utah. Interesting projects in this phase of his career included an air traffic control tower for a major airport, hangars for military aircraft, a huge airplane runway, and an indoor shooting range for military weapons.
He converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a teenager and served actively in the Church for his entire life thereafter. He was a seventy when that was a local office. He served in Scouting and Young Men for many years when his boys were younger and had many other callings, including bishop's counselor. Bob was a deeply spiritual person who pondered eternal things. He would easily become choked up with emotion when contemplating his blessings, listening to the sacrament hymn, offering a prayer at a family gathering, or bearing his testimony of the gospel.
Bob's hobbies included gardening, photography, and reading. He sent family members and friends many cards decorated with his own photos of his beloved irises, lilies, and other flowers. As a younger man he was involved in athletics, including football, wrestling, track and field, and bicycling. He taught his sons football, baseball, and soccer. He loved to cook meat on the grill. He enjoyed jazz music and dressing up nicely. He learned how to write calligraphy. He quoted Shakespeare and other poets. He had a great sense of humor and delighted in making others laugh. Above all he loved his family and was incredibly thoughtful in giving compliments, remembering birthdays, and looking for ways to support and serve. His final known words were "I love you, goodnight," said to a family member who visited him in the hospital three days before he died.
Bob is survived by his wife, Kathleen Pusey Smith; sons Eric (Gina), Scott (Kimberly), Jared (Sarah), and Aaron (Sydney); brothers Jerry (Jan) and Larry (Charlotte); stepchildren Melanie (Greg), Brad (Michelle), Morris (Robyn), and Jared; twenty-one grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at the Bridlewood Ward, 165 Monarch Drive, Bountiful, Utah. A viewing will be held Tuesday evening from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful and Wednesday morning 9:30–10:45 a.m. at the church prior to services. Interment - Bountiful City Cemetery.
Services will be streamed live on Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and this obituary page.
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