Gerald Asa Smith

Gary met his high school sweetheart, Joyce Elaine Weber, at the age of 14. They married on July 1, 1955, shortly after graduating from Greeley High School, and they were together until Joyce’s passing in 2022. Gary lived most of the first sixty years of his life in Colorado, where he had a long and successful career as a manufacturer’s representative for French’s company and later for McCormick & Co. spices. He was well-regarded by his managers and coworkers and earned numerous sales awards. In 1997, Gary and Joyce retired to the Oregon coast and lived in Brookings, Florence, and Salem. In 2015, Gary and Joyce moved to Bloomington, Indiana, to be near their son Troy, daughter-in-law Laura, and grandson, Wiley.

Gary is survived by his children, Alan, Shelly, and Troy; his grandchildren Larissa Brennan, Jamie Leigh, Chris Smith, Brandon Wacker, Henry Levine, and Wiley Smith; and his great-grandson Carson Smith. He was preceded in death by his wife Joyce; his parents, Asa and Zella (Throope) Smith and his sisters, Shirley and Phyllis.

A private family ceremony will be held on the Oregon coast to celebrate Gary’s and Joyce’s lives and to scatter their ashes in a place by the ocean that they both loved.