The funeral service for Bob Smith will be held on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. in the First Baptist Church in Dell Rapids.  Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, May 26, 2014 at Kahler Funeral Home.  The family will be present to greet friends from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and a Prayer service and time of sharing will begin at 4:00 p.m.

Robert “Bob” Smith was born on July 29, 1935 near Valley Springs, SD, the son of Richard and Clara Smith.  He grew up in the Valley Springs area and graduated from Valley Springs High School in 1953.  He attended SDSU before entering the U.S. Navy in 1954 during the Korean Conflict.  After his discharge in 1958, Bob went to work for Bell Telephone.  Bob married Marilyn Gapp on January 11, 1964 in Salem, SD.  They lived in Jamestown, ND, Armour, SD, and rural Valley Springs, SD.  Bob worked as an Electronics Technician for the U.S. Department of Energy until he retired in 1993.  After selling their acreage, they moved to Sioux Falls, and then to Dell Rapids in 2001.  Bob went to work selling homes for Schwebach Realty and was with them for eight years.

Bob passed away on Thursday, May  22, 2014 at his home after a short illness.  He was 78 and was preceded in death by his parents, his sister-in-law, Sharon Smith, and his son-in-law, Marvin Luke.

Bob was a member of the River Community Church in Dell Rapids and was a past member of the Ben Clare United Methodist Church. He was a former United Methodist Mens Conference President, an active member of Optimist Club International, and was on the ministry team for Lifestyle Relational Evangelism. Bob also made over 30 trips to Ft. Thompson doing mission work.

Bob loved life, people, and travel.  He loved his family and had a strong influence in their lives.  Always our rock… a solid force we could count on.  He loved God and wanted to be used by the Holy Spirit.  He made friends wherever he went, and knew which restaurant in town had the best pie!  There was never a dull moment being with Bob!  Learning to play bass guitar was his latest passion and he played in church as recently as two weeks ago.  He told the nurse less than 24 hours before his death, “I guess I won’t be playing in church this Sunday.”  Now he is in heaven worshiping the King of Kings.  We will miss him greatly, but we are so thankful that he made a peaceful transition from this broken world into eternal life with his Lord and Savior.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Marilyn of Dell Rapids; his three daughters, Sheila (Jeff) Howe of rural Valley Springs, Stacey (Bryan) McKee of Mountain Home, AR, and Sherri (Clint) Dobesh of Dell Rapids, SD; his brother, Stewart Smith of Valley Springs, SD; his eleven grandchildren, Keegan,Trevor, Nolan, Meara, Alex, Blake, Connor, Breona, Michael, Mallery, and Karley; and his three great-grandchildren, Bentley, Jaxxsyn, and Jedediah.

Condolences may be left at http://www.kahlerfh.com.