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Robert D. 'Bob' Smith

| June 23, 2021 1:00 AM

Bob Smith passed from this world to the next on the afternoon of June 6, 2021, at his home, surrounded by his loving wife and daughters.

Bob was born on a farm in southwest Iowa in 1939, son of Ross and Marie Smith. The span of his 81 years started with a childhood of chores before and after school, plowing fields, and making hay. The work ethic and discipline of farm life carried through to his successful 40-year career in business management, corporate leadership, and adventures around the globe. For retirement he returned to his small-town roots and the serene quiet of a home tucked in the woods outside Whitefish, Montana.

Bob led an intentional life, actively pursued his dreams, and supported and encouraged others around him to pursue theirs. He was a pillar of strength and support for his family, including Glenda, his wife and partner in love and life for 61 of his 81 years, and his three daughters and their families: Ellen Rude, her husband Patrick and two step-children Geoffrey Rude and Kelsey Fisher, Kelsey’s husband Kevin, and their daughter Riley; Carol Westerdale, her husband Jim and two children, Rob and Roxanne; and Ingrid Ulrey, her wife Page and two sons, Roscoe and Skye McDonald.

Memories of Bob will also be cherished by his sister, Karen Berger, and brother, Guy Smith, and a large extended family in and around Anita, Iowa, a town surrounded by rolling hills covered in corn and bean fields where Bob grew up.

Taking risks, setting goals, and following through with plans to achieve them were central to Bob’s DNA. He and Glenda launched their married life with very little in the bank, two baby girls within the first two years, and a sense of adventure. Soon after buying their first home in Omaha, Bob was recruited for a higher-level management position based in Hackensack, New Jersey, where his third daughter was born. Over the years, Bob’s promotions and expanded responsibilities moved the family 14 times to seven different states, and from 1978-1981 to London, England. In 1997, Bob retired from his role as Corporate Vice-President with Avery Dennison International, a company he’d helped guide and grow for 25 years.

During his work years, Bob was as planful and ambitious about his family time and hobbies as he was about his career, organizing family ski trips, houseboat adventures on Lake Powell, and weeks at the beach with Glenda and his girls. In between frequent business trips, he buddied up with a neighbor for dirt biking in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, built a dark room in the garage for his photography hobby, and earned his airplane pilot’s license.

When Glenda fended off a serious bout with cancer in the mid-1990s, Bob and Glenda made a decision to retire earlier than planned and move to a beautiful place that met two key criteria: good slopes for skiing and a vibrant community with which to engage. By 1997, they were settling into their newly built home in Whitefish and enjoying many hours in the large shop on their property where Glenda honed her stained-glass artistry and Bob started blacksmithing, eventually serving as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Montana Blacksmithing Association.

The shop was also home to Bob’s collection of antique motorcycles and cars, and a place where he enjoyed learning from his friends who knew how to rebuild and repair them. He continually expressed his appreciation for their time with him, problem-solving and preparing a bike or car for the next big ride. Bob was an enthusiastic member of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America, Northern Rockies Chapter, and he also loved road runs with his 1915 Speedster, and the comradery of his friends at the Model T Club and the Flathead Pioneer Auto Club, serving as Secretary/Treasurer and contributing in as many ways as he could.

Ever the mentor, Bob leveraged his business acumen in retirement as a volunteer for the Western Montana Service Core of Retired Executives, counseling small business owners across the Flathead Valley. Later, he founded and served as co-chair of the board of the Frontier Fund, where he delighted in assessing and advising innovative start-ups and investing in the ideas with the most potential.

Following Glenda’s lead, Bob agreed to adopt a pair of llamas in 1999, the first of many llamas who they took on treks into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and led down Main Street in the annual Whitefish Winter Carnival parade. Bob delighted in sharing the gentle joys of the llamas on visits to local parks and community events, and watching people smile, take pictures with them, and pet their long furry necks.

As noted by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.” Bob was this person, in small and sometimes very big ways, for many people who were lucky enough to enter his orbit. In recent years, Bob taught cribbage to 4th graders at Muldown Elementary School, using one of his life-long favorite games to help kids learn how to problem-solve and grow their confidence. Throughout his life, co-workers, friends, and family were drawn to Bob for consult at life’s major intersections. He listened, asked questions, and left people with the tools they need to find their own way. He will be greatly missed.

A celebration of Bob’s life will be held at the Lagoon Pavilion in Woodland Park, 705 2nd St East, Kalispell, Montana on July 8, 2021, at 4 p.m. Donations in Bob’s honor are welcome to: The Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, 1-877-MFPA-USA.