Richard (Dick) G. Smith

Marysville businessman and veteran, Richard (Dick) G. Smith, age 96, passed away Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at Community Memorial Healthcare in Marysville. Rosary was be held at 7:00 P.M. Sunday at St. Gregory's Catholic Church. Mass of Christian Burial was at 10:00 A.M. Monday, September 6, 2010 at the church. St. Gregory's Choir sang "Here I Am Lord", "Prayer of St. Francis", "On Eagles Wings", "You Are Mine", and "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" accompanied by Bob Welch on the organ. Pallbearers were Richard G. Smith III, Robert J. Smith, Jr., James W. Smith, Robert A. Wilkinson, Michael R. Wilkinson, and William R. Wilkinson. Burial was at St. Gregory's Catholic Cemetery with Military Honors by the Marysville American Legion. Richard was born May 31, 1914 in St. Louis, MO., the son of Cyril Robert Smith and Ruth F. Grenard. He attended elementary and high school in University City, MO. In the 1930's he worked as a motion picture projectionist at a number of theaters in St. Louis and the surrounding area. Richard married Mary Louise Lowell, also of St. Louis, at the Little Flower Catholic Church on October 24, 1941. When World War II began, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served on a 110' subchaser in the Atlantic and in the Caribbean, hunting German u-boats. Richard also participated in the November 1942 invasion of North Africa. When the war ended, he remained in the service transferring to the newly created United States Air Force and served 26 years at a variety of locations including Orlando, Florida, Tucson, AZ., Reykjavik, Iceland, and Omaha, NE. Richard retired from the Air Force in 1962 after serving his country for more than 30 years. In the mid 1960's, Richard opened his first theater in David City, NE. In 1970, he purchased the theater and drive-in theater in Marysville. For the next 28 years, Smith Theaters Inc. owned and operated theaters in northeast and central Kansas. Richard sold the theaters in 1998 and retired. Richard was preceded in death by his wife Mary Louise on April 6, 2005, a son, William Smith on September 28, 1998, his mother, Ruth Grenard, his father, Cyril Smith, and a sister, Beatrice Wildinger. Richard is survived by two sons, Richard G. Smith, Jr. of Tucson, AZ. and Robert J. Smith of Marysville, a daughter, Judith Wilkinson, of Barnes, KS., eleven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. Richard was a member of St. Gregory's Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion, and a Veteran of Foreign Wars. Memorials may be made to Community Memorial Healthcare and can be sent in care of Kinsley Mortuary. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Richard (Dick) G. Smith, please visit our flower store.