Edgar Shelby Smith Jr.

Our father was born in Ontario, Oregon on Thursday, May 28, 1925 to Edgar Shelby Sr. and Minerva Florence Smith. He was the 8th of 9 children. They lived on their family farm until 1935 when they moved to Portland, Oregon.

Most young men during World War II were enlisting into the Armed Services. He was no different. On his 18th birthday, May 28th, 1943, he enlisted into the Army. He opted for the Army Air Corp and was chosen as an Army Air Corp pilot. He attended Advanced Pilot Training at La Junta Field in La Junta, California, were he received his wings on Nov 19th, 1944. He mostly trained on B-24 and B-25 bombers. He was assigned as a B-24 pilot (he called them the "turkeys" of the Air Corps). For the remainder of the war he spent most of his time running electric training bombing missions, mostly at civilian targets. His favorite was the Golden Gate Bridge. He never saw combat, as the Atom Bomb was used to end the war prior to him being deployed. He was Honorably Discharged from the Army on Oct 12th, 1945.

From there he returned to Portland. In December of 1949, while attending a Christian, Young Adult Group at the Central Church of Christ, he met a young, beautiful 4th Grade teacher, Mary Sue Grant. After a brief engagement, they were married in Abilene, Texas on Tuesday August 1, 1950 at 8am. They were together for almost 66 years, till her passing on Monday, May 16th, 2016.

From early January, 1951, to the Summer of 1966, they relocated from Portland to the Los Angeles area, then to Fresno, Ca, then to Sacramento, Ca, and back up to Portland, before settling into the Keizer, Oregon area the summer of 1966. During this time his family grew by the addition of six kids. Each move was to follow career opportunities.

He went from being an insurance salesman in Portland to an airline mechanic in LA and Fresno. While in Fresno he attended Fresno State College where he majored in Sociology and Anthropology. In January of 1959 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. In Sacramento he worked for the Dept. of Corrections as a Staff Analyst. He continued that career into the Portland area as a Parole and Probation officer for the Oregon Dept. of Corrections, and then moved to the Keizer/Salem area to continue his work a Parole officer and where he was promoted to Director of Program Planning and Evaluation. They resided in Keizer till the summer of 1977 when he opened a new office in Prineville, Oregon, where he worked till his retirement from the State in December of 1977.

During his career he received two professional honors. First, in 1973 he was elected President of the Oregon Parole and Probations Officers Association. As President, he successfully negotiated a 22% wage increase over a two-year period. This was, and still is, the largest single pay increase in the history of the state of Oregon. The second honor was a Governor’s appointment by Robert Straub to the Community Corrections Advisory Board in 1977.

Shortly after his retirement from the State of Oregon they moved the Hillsboro area where he worked as a Bus Driver for Tri-met Transit system till his full retirement in 1996.

During the final years of employment, he survived two bouts of prostate cancer and also non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

In mid-2006, they relocated back to Salem area, where they both resided until their passing.

On Monday, June 27th, at 6:30pm our dad passed away gently, with his children by his side, to be with his Lord and to be reunited with Mom. He is survived by his siblings, Ralph Smith of Tacoma, Washington, and Josephine Banks of Clackamas, Oregon. He is also survived by his children: Daughter Kathy and Martin Abbott, son Philip and Karen Smith, daughter Janet Smith, son Duane and Melody Smith, daughter Carolyn and Steven Mentzer, and son Timothy Smith; 12 grandchildren; and 14 great grandchildren.

He may be gone from this life, but he'll live forever in our hearts.

Arrangements under the direction of Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, Portland, OR.