Robert "Bob" Smith, 77, of Greenfield

Celebration of Life Services: Will be held on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at the Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield with burial in the Iowa Veterans Cemetery, Adel, Iowa at 12:30 p.m.  Full military graveside rites will be held by the Greenfield American Legion Head-Endres Post No. 265 and V.F.W. Post No. 5357 and Navy Military Honors.  Pastor Melinda Stonebraker will officiate the service.  The Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield is in charge of the professional arrangements.  Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.

Memorials:  May be made to the Tunnel to Tower Foundation.

Robert Eugene Smith was born on September 2, 1946, in Greenfield, Iowa, the son of Norral and Margaret (Jensen) Smith.  He passed away on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at the Community Care Center in Stuart, Iowa, at the age of 77.

He was the 4th child born and his parents thought it was great to now have two sons and two daughters.  After living in Greenfield the family bought a farm north of Orient and the children grew up with the benefits of life on the farm, dogs, cats, horses, chickens and all the rest.  Mother made sure all the kids took Red Cross swim lessons, so Bob and sister, Sharon spent many summer afternoons at the Greenfield pool.  Another highlight of summer were the neighborhood hot dog roasts that the many kids enjoyed very much.  Bob attended school in Orient until right before his junior year when his parents sold their farm and moved to Exira for that one year. After a move to Corning, Bob completed his senior year graduating with the class of 1964.  He played football and was quite good at it. Bob loved the guitar and saved up for a year to buy his first one.

The summer after graduation, Bob worked construction on highway 34 building bridges and then helping build an education center on the Corning Methodist Church.  In October of that year, Bob enlisted in the United States Navy and served his country for 4 years.  He served on a Refrigerator Cargo Ship, the U.S.S. Pictor which was based in the far east near Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.  In October of 1968, he completed his service with an honorable discharge as E-5 Petty Officer 2nd Class.  He worked in Atlantic, Iowa for one year and then moved to California to enroll in the San Francisco Heald Engineering School.  From there he worked for both Black and Veatch out of Overland Park, Kansas and Bechtel out of San Francisco and Maryland on power plant jobs in the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Papua, New Guinea.  During one of those jobs, he contracted dengue fever, a mosquito borne viral illness that many people do not survive.  Some of the power plants were nuclear and some were conventional.  His job was working as the startup manager.  Bob was working in Taiwan on September 11, 2001 and saw the attacks on our country on T.V.   That helped him to make the decision to return to the United States after finishing the job in Taiwan in 2002.

For a time, Bob owned a flight courier and small plane rental business in Goodyear, Arizona.  He enjoyed flying his own planes, especially his Mooney.

Eventually he returned to Greenfield and started his screen printing and heat transfers business on the northwest corner of the square called All Digital Wear.  He ran that business until 2018 when he sold the building.  He enjoyed apartment living for a time, but he developed COPD that took its toll.  His final few years he lived in care centers in Greenfield, Anita and Stuart.  He enjoyed NASCAR, Hawkeye football, Republican politics, keeping up with his old Navy and work friends and his extended family.  About 4 years ago, during one of his hospitalizations, Bob called on the Lord to save him and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Jens Christian and Laura Jensen and William Louis and Elizabeth Smith; parents; brother, James Louis Smith in 2022; brother-in-law, Wayne Jensen; sisters-in-law, Barbara Smith and Betty Smith; nephews, Daniel Smith and Jason Smith; many aunts, uncles and cousins.

He is survived by his siblings, Shirley Jensen of Atlantic, Sharon (Roger) Sorensen of Corning , Ron Smith of Greenfield and Connie (Paul) Nolan of Lampe, Missouri; nephews, Doug Jensen (Becky), Eric Sorensen (Wendy), Chad Sorensen (Nicole), and David Smith; nieces, Randee Bulla (Chip), Kelli Kerkhoff (Andy), Sarah Burke, Heidi Hiebert (Aaron) and Holly Houg (Steve); 17 great nieces and nephews; cousins, Darrell Jensen (Wilda), Wayne Jensen and Marie Allard; other relatives and friends.

Those we love can never be more than a thought away.  for as long as there's a memory, they live in our hearts to stay.