Barry Harvey Francis Smith

Dad was born in Guilford, England to Gerald and Marjorie Smith. Within a few years he had a brother John and a sister Stephanie, completing their family. When Dad was a young boy, the family immigrated to Canada and resided in Steelhead, B.C., calling it their new home. Dad spent the majority of his younger years in the Fraser Valley, where he met and fell in love with our Mom, Jeanette Valerie Pigeau. Together they had the 4 of us, 3 daughters and 1 son, Linda (Dennis) Enkurs, Anne Soucy (D. February 26, 2024), Donald (Lori) Smith, and Zina Smith.

Dad labored in logging camps and sawmills as an Oiler, performing various maintenance tasks. He eventually decided to achieve his Millwright Certification and spent countless hours in the evenings studying in order to do just that. Our family moved to various B.C. towns while Dad did his apprenticeship in order to obtain the certification. After many years, Dad eventually retired from the mills and then started up his own very successful business, Inland Used Sawmill Equipment in Vernon B.C. where he refurbished used sawmill equipment for resale and he had many customers throughout B.C., all of which quickly became “friends”.

Dad and Mom spent most of their lives doing what they loved, camping, fishing and boating, often with is kids and later, grandkids. They also loved hunting season and always looked forward to their yearly trip up north with their son Don, who was Barry’s hunting partner. There were often others that joined in if they could, and their yearly hunt was always a good time.

Dad had a true passion for restoring vintage and antique Ford cars and had restored many over the years. He was a very proud member of The North Okanagan Vintage Car Club of Canada for over 50 years. Dad always looked forward to the annual Father’s Day Car Show in Vernon B.C. where he proudly showed his cars.

Our Dad was a mischievous man, always one to play pranks. He had a good sense of humor that remained with him until the end. He loved music and while our Mom was playing the guitar, Dad was always singing. He loved to dance and spent many Friday nights at the Army and Navy in Vernon, dancing and socializing with friends and occasionally family as well. He was loved by everyone who knew him. Our Dad’s last dance was August 16, 2024.

Our parents were blessed with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, and loved by all of them. Family gatherings always tended to be very large and lively.

At the end, out Father was surrounded by family, which provided him great comfort at the time of his peaceful passing.

Goodbye Dad, we will miss you dearly and we as a family are looking forward to the day when we meet again. Rest in peace.

A Celebration of Life gathering will be announced at a later date.