Gordon Smith

Gordon Nathaniel Smith was born on February 9, 1933 to Nathaniel and Lydia Smith, and passed away on April 8, 2020.  He married Joanne DeHaan on October 28, 1955 in the Salt Lake Temple.  Together they had four sons and four daughters, and all of them together had a blast.
In 1930, his parents started a variety store and market in west Salt Lake that became one of the most successful small business in the City at the time.  Gordon was soon enlisted at a very young age to deliver meat and groceries, which was customary then, and appeared at his customers’ homes as a memorable visage sometimes struggling a bit to pull his small but overloaded red wagon to the doorstep.  Not many years later in delivering newspapers instead of food, as just a little example typical of his dedication to whatever the task at hand, Gordon received a service award for “Unfailing Home Delivery” to his 120 or so customers lining the steep streets of the Avenues during the infamous winter of 1948-49.
He and his sweetheart first met when they were 5 years old, and were married for 61 years after an engagement that became extended by honorable service in the US Army, Battery C, 95th Antiaircraft Battalion, stationed primarily in Germany.  He graduated from the University of Utah in 1959.
A car guy at heart, one of his favorites was a meticulously cared for 1950 Ford coupe, two-tone blue, with three-on-the-tree, dual pipes, and polished chrome wheels.  His passion for cars was one of the great interests he imbued in his sons who’d love to have a drive in that same car today.
Gordon spent most of his professional life with the Bureau of National Affairs, a Washington D.C. based legal and business information services publisher.  After 30 years with BNA, then holding the record for the most career sales and Distinguished Sales Award qualifications in BNA’s history, Gordon’s peers from across the country wrote that his career was characterized by dignity, loyalty, professionalism, integrity, fairness and good-natured humor.
Gordon found divine purpose and a reason for gratitude in most everything, and very much enjoyed his life of religious service in many different capacities including as Bishop of the Little Cottonwood 5th Ward.  Serving in the Temple was one of his greatest joys.
He was an unfailing refuge of warmth, acceptance and kindness.  Gordon thrived on personal relationships, and was a gentleman.  His endless supply of one-liners is legendary – most seemed to form spontaneously, and were often corny but in a way that would reliably elicit an irrepressible laugh.  He also drew on a deep reservoir of stories that, in concert with his quips, were perfectly fit for the moment and had the effect of endearing him to those he was with.  Respectful and always with a twinkle in his eye and a ready chuckle, he went through life with genuineness, understated simplicity, and a boyish sense of enthusiasm that colored all he did.
Gordon took immeasurable joy in his posterity, numbering 89.  He would often sing Tevye’s If I Were a Rich Man, and then exult: “I am the richest man in Babylon: gold and silver have I none, Sons and Daughters have I many, and I love them every one.”
He had a wonderful childhood with his beloved sisters Cherry Sanders and Marie Mason, and his best friend and brother Fred Smith.  He is preceded in death by his wife Joanne and his daughter Annette, and is survived by children David (Elizabeth), Jodee, Paul (Diane), Lori (Steven), Andrew (Marilee), Suzanne, and Timothy (Toni).  In light of current conditions, a virtual event will be held with extended family.  Friends may join a video memorial at noon on Thursday April 16, 2020 by linking to https://zoom.us/j/589040235.  In lieu of flowers, find the best way you can to lift and make another’s life better.
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