Leroy Wellington Smith

GLENDIVE, MONTANA: LeRoy Wellington Smith, age 77, passed away Sunday, July 11, 2010 at his home in Glendive. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, July 17, 2010 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive with Celebrant Sandy Silha and Pastor Dan Pust officiating. Interment will be in the Dawson County Cemetery of Glendive. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements. LeRoy was born January 27, 1933, in Brockton, Montana, the son of Helmer Smith and Okal (Hogg) Smith Wing. He received his education at Fairview, Montana and at Richey, Montana. At a young age he moved to Glendive with his mother and stepfather (George Wing) and had resided there since. LeRoy married Patsy Ann Carpenter on September 3, 1958 in Miles City, Montana. LeRoy had been employed in the oilfields his entire working career. He had worked for Daniel's Oilfield Service until starting his own company, Pioneer Roustabout Service, which he continued to operate until his retirement in 1992. LeRoy loved country music and enjoyed playing his guitar with his "pards", fishing with Derek, attending Bump & Runs to watch Lonnie and Mike, camping, family barbeques and dancing the night away. LeRoy's life centered around his family and he often commented "it don't get any better than being around the kids and grandkids". He was preceded in death by his parents and one son, Lonnie in 1980 a sister, Louise Campbell and two brothers, David Wing and Dana Wing. Survivors include his wife Patsy and his daughter Laurie Mittelstaed and her husband Raymond; his three son's Larry L., Derek and his wife Annie and Lonnie J. (Brett) Smith all of Glendive; his daughter Lyn Holderfield and her husband Bo of Alabama; brothers, Ervin Smith and his wife Sherri of Glendive, George Wing and his wife Anita of Glendive, Floyd Wing of Glendive; two sisters, Lorraine Boese and her husband Allen of Flathead Lake, Montana and Cathy Schmidt and her husband Rod of Glendive; nine grandchildren and one great grandchild. LeRoy Wellington Smith Life Tribute Service Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home Glendive, Montana Welcome: Master of Ceremonies Video Tribute Eulogy: Celebrant LeRoy Wellington Smith strongly believed a philosophy about life – “it is what it is.” You take life for what it is and you don’t complain, you just live it, do the best you can with it, enjoy it, have fun with it, learn from it. LeRoy also understood that the most important thing in life was people; family and friends, neighbors and co-workers. LeRoy is described by those closest to him as a man who was both happy and content. If you ask people what they liked about LeRoy, the answer would be “everything, there was nothing about LeRoy not to like.” He was interested in people, he was outgoing and always had a hello, he loved to talk and visit, and he would find the good in everyone. LeRoy had a great sense of humor, he truly enjoyed having fun, and as his daughter, Laurie put it, he was “full of crap!” For almost 54 years, LeRoy’s best friend, companion and confidant was his wife, Pat. LeRoy and Pat met when Pat went with a friend to visit LeRoy’s mother. The next day, LeRoy called Pat and asked her to out with him. Their first date was fishing at Intake. And they never looked back. Throughout their married life, LeRoy never called Pat by her name, he called her Wife, Hon, Mom, Grandma, and if it was serious or something he felt strongly about, he would call her Mum. But nothing and no one is perfect, and one of the differences between LeRoy and Pat was that LeRoy would get up early and get the morning coffee going. He’d be whistling and singing, ready to share a joke or two as he planned out the day’s work. Pat is not a morning person and found this trait of LeRoy’s downright irritating. Pat would warn LeRoy over and over that she needed her first cup of coffee before he could expect her to share in the excitement of the day to come. The things Pat loved about LeRoy were everything else. He put family first, was very protective, his kids and grandkids were “perfect.” LeRoy didn’t get angry or rattled about much, it was what it was, and he accepted and handled it. He had strong ethics and instilled them in his children and grandchildren. His family can recite in chorus some of LeRoy’s life lessons. “It isn’t a mistake unless you learn nothing from it.” “God helps those who help themselves.” “Never do something to someone else you wouldn’t want done to you.” “If you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything.” The worst that LeRoy might say was that someone was “goofier than a football bat.” LeRoy loved kids. Week-ends were spent with the kids and grandkids. To LeRoy and Pat, the grandkids were just like their own kids. One of the things LeRoy would always say to granddaughter T.J. when she showed up to visit was “Well, if it isn’t my favorite granddaughter!” And T.J. would remind him that she was his only granddaughter. T.J. also gave LeRoy a great-granddaughter, Laney, and LeRoy loved his girls. Niece Sharla Carpenter thought of LeRoy as a second father and someone to call on to save you from a bullsnake on your steps, or any other crisis. This past 4th of July week-end, Leroy spent time fishing with son Derek and his wife Annie, and then went to watch Lonnie win a Bump ‘n Run. It was a wonderful week-end and LeRoy commented to Pat that “it just didn’t get any better than that.” LeRoy was a great teacher, he had a way that made learning fun. He allowed you to make mistakes; he would lead you but not do it for you. LeRoy would take the kids and grandkids with him out to work into the oilfields and teach them. Derek and Lonnie learned the oilfield from LeRoy. The only one he ever fired was Laurie. LeRoy needed his backhoe towed. Laurie was with LeRoy at the time and got the job. She had never towed anything before but LeRoy said that once he was hooked up all she had to do was drive. He neglected to tell Laurie she should drive slow. Laurie took off and was moving right along. When she finally looked back, there was LeRoy bouncing along in the backhoe, waving frantically. She stopped and LeRoy jumped out of the backhoe, all redfaced, telling her that he wasn’t waving to say hello. That ended Laurie’s oilfield career. LeRoy spent his working career in the oilfields as a roustabout. He was very good at it. LeRoy would run everywhere and was the sharpest hand in the field. LeRoy was very mechanically inclined and also very innovative. When things went wrong, he knew what was wrong. He knew where all the shutoffs were; he knew where all the pipelines were. When it came to digging out broken lines, LeRoy was an expert with his backhoe. He even used his backhoe to dig out Monte Smith after sand caved in on Monte in one of the holes he was welding in. Monte’s life wasn’t the only one LeRoy saved out in the field. He was constantly warning the guys about the effects of hydrogen sulfide and what to watch out for. And LeRoy would never ask anyone to do something he wouldn’t do himself. LeRoy was totally dedicated to his work. Two of the biggest challenges in his life were work related. The first was starting his own company and making it succeed. The second was how difficult it was to retire from the oilfield. LeRoy liked what he did, he was good at it, and he loved the comraderie with the men in the field, his “pards.” One of LeRoy’s “pards”, Monte, tells a story about after work fun he had with LeRoy. They were in Baker, racing at 105 mph, on the overhead. LeRoy hit an approach and things got wild. When Monte pulled up next to LeRoy to see if he was alright, LeRoy told Monte to “just tell the folks back home the ole kid’s having a ball!” That was followed with three 360’s in the gas station parking lot. Sometimes, LeRoy and the “pard’s” needed some adult supervision during play time. After his retirement, LeRoy loved to ride with Derek and go on runs with Derek as Derek worked his job with Baker Tools. When Leroy wasn’t out in the oilfield working, he and Pat would spend time with family and friends having fun, doing things. A favorite activity was to load up everyone and go camping. They started out just going and sleeping in their vehicle. Then they used tents, with Pat sleeping on an army cot that LeRoy soon tired of carting around. On one tenting trip with Frank and Carol Carpenter, a storm blew in. LeRoy and Carol tried to hold up the walls of the tent, while everyone got out and to the vehicles. When they got home from that trip, LeRoy gave his pick-up and the tent to his neighbor. From tenting, they went to traveling in an old school bus. There were many memorable and hilarious times camping with Frank and Carol and Jake and Sherry and all the kids. Locally they enjoyed Intake. For longer adventures, Wisconsin was a favorite destination, with the fun beginning from the moment they left town. On one trip they stopped at a campground and lake in Minnesota. They weren’t sure they liked it or would even stay at first, but they did. From that trip, they became friends with the campground owners, Harold and Gretchen Wold. It became a favorite annual destination, just like a second home. LeRoy particularily enjoyed the loons on the lake and listening to them. The loons you see today are a part of LeRoy’s collection. Traveling down the road in the school bus was quite an adventure in itself, much like a National Lampoon movie. Between all the adults, kids and pets, pit stops could be pretty exciting. Everyone would pile out, do their thing and pile back in. Once, the family poodle, Cocoa, got left behind after a stop. When she was finally missed, the bus turned around and went back to get her. There she was, sitting by the side of the road, patiently waiting for her ride. Another activity LeRoy and Pat loved was dancing. Saturday nights were spent at the Wagon Wheel dancing up a storm. Once, when they were walking to the door from the parking lot, LeRoy could hear the song “Swingin Doors” playing and they entered the Wagon wheel dancing the jitterbug. After that, whenever they would show up, the band would stop whatever song they were playing as soon as they saw LeRoy and Pat, and start playing “Swingin Doors”. LeRoy taught both daughters, Lorie and Lyn, to dance. One of the biggest rewards of Leroy getting his knees fixed was that it allowed him to continue dancing. He and Pat would dance anywhere, including two-stepping on the front lawn. LeRoy loved music, old time country music with Hank Williams, Ferlin Husky, George Jones and others. LeRoy felt the newer country singers just “messed it up.” He learned to play guitar from Leonard Unruh and enjoyed getting together with his friends and playing at the Southside tavern. He loved to sing, not so much in public, but going down the road and at home. Music was a fun and happy thing for LeRoy. Another huge love of LeRoy’s was food. So we must include, as Lonnie puts it, an “ode to food.” LeRoy could and would eat anything. Pat tells about the first time she made spaghetti. The salt shaker top came off when she was salting the spaghetti water. The entire bottle of salt went into the water. As LeRoy took his first bites of the spaghetti, Pat asked him how it was…good, said LeRoy, as he continued eating. Pat took a bite and about spit it out, exclaiming how awful it was, accusing LeRoy of lying. Yes, said Leroy with his dry humor, but it was easier than being knocked out. Lonnie would make deer sausage, and it was not uncommon to find most of it eaten by LeRoy before anyone even got to taste it. LeRoy and grandson, Mike, were two of a kind. They would be the first to sit down at the table, surveying all the food and seeing just how much damage they could do, and they were the last to leave the table. LeRoy loved his date filled cookies and molasses cookies. Pat hated rolling out the molasses cookies on the flour board, but they were his favorites. She changed recipes and although Pat said they tasted the same, LeRoy claimed they weren’t as good as the ones with flour on the bottoms. He would rib Pat about this every time she baked. Finally she told LeRoy, he should just dip his cookies in flour as long as he missed it so much. LeRoy had a real sweet tooth. He went through pounds of black jelly beans. He always carried treats in his lunch box, and when he would get home from work, the neighborhood kids would swarm around him, knowing he had saved them a treat. Tootsie pop suckers were another favorite. He would have sucking contests with the kids and grandkids, to see who could get to the tootsie roll first, no biting allowed. A lot of slurping went on. After LeRoy had all his teeth out, guess who would win those contests. Whatever LeRoy did, whoever LeRoy was with, wherever he was, LeRoy was a presence that was noticed. This was true in his neighborhood also. LeRoy and Pat’s neighborhood out on Marsh road, is it’s own small community. Everyone is more like extended family. LeRoy and Pat’s house was the coffeehouse to gather and visit and share stories, with Mondays the busiest day for everyone to catch up with each other and see what was going on in the coming days. LeRoy willed his coffeepot to his neighbor, Jane Hajek. Jane says she will continue let Pat use it though. LeRoy was a great neighbor, always willing to help, he never turned anyone down, and worked with the others to make the neighborhood better. Leroy, Art Gehnert and Jim Hajek worked hard hauling in rock for rip rap to build up the dyke. They had a great time, though, and it was fun to see these guys playing with their antique dump trucks. Art Gehnert made the comment that in Montana the word “neighbor” was not a noun or adjective but a verb. LeRoy exemplified that because he was always active in making his neighborhood and community better, with both his hard work and his support and friendship to everyone around him. LeRoy was a special man and a unique personality. He was loved, enjoyed and respected by all who knew him. As Pat put it, “LeRoy was a happy and contented man who made the ordinary amazing!” LeRoy was what he was. LeRoy Wellington Smith was greatly loved and he will be greatly missed. Let us now spend time with our personal memories of LeRoy as we listen to a song chosen by Leroy’s family, “Wings of A Dove.” Song: “On the Wings of A Dove” by Ferlin Husky Introduction of Speaker for Reading: Celebrant At this time a friend and “junior pard” of LeRoy’s, Dale Leivastad, will share a special reading selected by LeRoy’s family. Reading: “Oilfield Blessing” read by Dale Leivastad Closing: Celebrant Today is an important day. We have gathered to pay tribute to LeRoy with our presence, and to honor him with our memories. LeRoy has touched many lives and his living and dying has made a difference among family, friends, and community. As we express our grief over losing the special presence he had in our lives, let us be grateful for the opportunity we had to experience his unique personality, and to share love and freindship. Pat, you mentioned, it will not be the big things, but instead it will be all those little things about LeRoy that you will miss. As you and all of LeRoy’s family and friends hold LeRoy close in your hearts, remember what a full life LeRoy lived. “It was what it was!” Touched though you are with sadness, find comfort in the fact that LeRoy loved his life and he loved the people in it. He was very proud of his family. He was happy and content, and know that what LeRoy has experienced can never be taken from him or from you. Feel fortunate to have had him walk through life with you. May we, the friends and community of LeRoy and his family, continue to let them know what an important presence Leroy was in our lives, by sharing our stories and memories of LeRoy with Pat and all of LeRoy’s family both today and in the coming weeks and months. Some people die without having really lived, while others continue to live in spite of the fact that they have died. May your memories of LeRoy’s life be a source of comfort, tears, and laughter in the coming days. We will listen to a final song, “I Want to Stroll Over Heaven with You”. Following the song, Reverend Dan Pust will close LeRoy’s life tribute service by sharing some spiritual comfort with us. Song: “I Want to Stroll Over Heaven with You” Closing Prayer: Reverend Dan Pust

Leroy Wellington Smith

January 27, 1933 - July 17, 2010

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Leroy Wellington Smith

January 27, 1933 - July 17, 2010

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

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