Kent Howard Smith

Kent H. Smith was a 6th generation sign-craftsman who grew up in his father's sign shop and took over production when his father passed away. Still, his search for a career led him to further fields. In high school, he trained for technical theater, primarily stage lighting, toured with Premiere Dance Arts, and lit shows at Denver Auditorium Theater and Red Rocks for national performers.

Deciding to pursue a career in education, he graduated from Colorado State College with a degree in Historical Research, and taught history, civics, economics, and driver ed in Grover, Colorado where he also served briefly as Superintendent of Schools. He also taught for the University of Northern Colorado. These pursuits lasted all his life.

During college he met Judy Findlater, an education major with a theatrical background. Their partnership lasted 59 years. After marriage they lived in Fort Lupton, Grover, Greeley, and Estes Park – always in his beloved Colorado.

However, with 2 daughters to support, he returned to Smith Sign Studio full time in 1971 and discovered that entrepreneurship agreed with him. Judi joined him in the office in the 1980s. Smith Sign Studio is still in operation as his daughters have followed family tradition and returned to complete the jobs on order. Audri has found her entrepreneurial spirit rejuvenated, and she and her sister, Cassi, will continue future production with the assistance of the grandchildren who “grew up in the shop".

In the 1980s and 1990s, Kent acted as sign product consultant and representative for a number of national sign product manufacturers. He has written instruction manuals, texts, labels, advertising, and many trade magazine articles as well as other publications.

While no longer a school teacher, Kent has always been an educator. With over 70 years in the business, he has a proven reputation as a teacher and mentor to others entering the field or exploring a new facet of the art of sign creation. A member of a brotherhood known as the Letterheads, he enjoyed being an integral part of their efforts to continue and share the skills of the esoteric arts. He wrote the sign gilding manual, “Gold Leaf Techniques", among other books published by their “Walden Illumination Division”. These include a community effort resulting in “100 Years: A Celebration of Women, the Extraordinary Women of the Estes Valley" which Kent curated.

Throughout his life, he supported numerous causes, too many to enumerate. He was always active in civic affairs. In Greeley, where he lived and worked for over 40 years, he served as Chairman of the We CAN Committee and was a founder of the Independence Stampede Troupe, a community theatre organization. Over the years, he also was an active member of the Colorado Historical Society, the Lions Club, and the National Railway Historical Society. He was President of the Rocky Mountain Sign Association and of the Southwest Sign Council, both affiliated with the International Sign Association where he was Chair of the Government Affairs Committee.

He began participation in Estes with the Mountain Strong Committee in 2013. He served as a Board member for the Estes Chamber of Commerce, where he also, until recently, served on the Executive Committee. He was also a past Board member of the Economic Development Corporation. Always a supporter of innovative education, Kent currently sat on the Long Range Planning Committee to explore the future of the Estes Schools.

He was a husband, a father, a grandfather, a teacher, a mentor, a consultant, and a friend, beloved by his family and by many others. He will be sorely missed with each unanswered appeal for advice.

Kent is survived by his wife Judith Belle Smith (Estes Park, CO); daughters: Audriellen Leanne Smith (Estes Park, CO) and Cassandra Ruth Montgomery and her significant other, Kevin Robert Fitzgerald (Granbury, TX); grandchildren: Kaesi Diane Moore (Fort Collins, CO), AJ Babbitt and Bethany McCusker (Fort Collins and Estes Park, CO), Blake Babbitt and Gillian Perry (Colorado Springs, CO), Messina Moore Montgomery (San Francisco, CA) and Dante DelCarlo Montgomery (San Luis Obisbo, CA); and the “littles”: great grandchildren Riley James Gage and Kaeden Fox Gage.

A Celebration of Life, to include family, friends, students, the community of Estes, and anyone across the country who was a part of his story, is tentatively planned for late July or August 2025.