Obituary of Eugene Edward Smith

Eugene Edward Smith Gene Smith passed away in his home on August 18, 2011, surrounded by his family, after a brief struggle with brain cancer (Glioblastoma). Gene was born in Missoula, Montana to Wayne and Agnes Smith on November 16, 1946. He graduated from Hellgate High School in 1966, and attended the University of Montana briefly before joining the Navy in 1968. While in the service, he studied in the field of electronics. After an honorable discharge in 1972, he had a few different jobs before going to work for Pacific Northwest Bell (Qwest) as a communications technician. Transferring to Olympia in 1991, he moved with his family to Chehalis. He eventually transferred his work to the Chehalis office to work as a central office technician. Gene worked for PNB/Qwest for 30 years before retiring in 2008. He was a wonderful husband, loving father, grandfather, and loyal friend. When his children were young, he loved to go camping, and take trips to the beach where he would help them build sand castles. And after becoming a grandfather, he was looking forward to doing all those things again. He loved reading, games, photography, movies, working on projects around his home, and just being with his family. Gene is survived by his wife, Patsy; daughter, Sandy and her husband Derrick; son, Bill; granddaughter, Madilyn; sister, Margaret James; brothers, Frank (and wife Jackie), Bob, and David (and wife Carole). He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Bill. Please leave remembrances of Gene or condolences for the family by clicking on "View Guestbook" below.