April 16, 2024

Linn County News

Published April 17, 2024

Ronald Joe Smith, 79, LaCygne, Kan., passed away Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Olathe Medical Center, Olathe, Kan. Visitation will be 10 – 11 a.m. Friday, April 19, 2024, at Bruce Funeral Home, 106 S. Center, Gardner, Kan. Graveside service will follow at 2 p.m. at Cadmus Cemetery, Cadmus, Kan. Memorial contributions may be made to New Life Baptist Church, 19089 KS-152, LaCygne, Kansas. Condolences may be left at www.brucefuneralhome.com

Ron was born in Parsons, Kan., on May 10, 1944, to Thomas Earl and Alfreda (Sandwith) Smith. His family moved to Olathe and then Gardner, where he graduated from Gardner High School. Ron married Carole Stockmeyer and later Diana Lynn Anderson. He later moved to Aurora, Colo., and Prairie City, Ore. Ron was a salesperson for Adams and Son Trucking, Aurora, Colo. He loved to workout daily at the gym. Ron especially enjoyed hiking, biking and camping. He liked to read and was the author of two published novels.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents; wives Carole and Diana; and brother Thomas Harry Smith. He is survived by his sons Rick Smith, Parker, Kan., and Ronald Duane Smith, Gardner, Kan.; sister Patty Heath, Boone, Iowa; stepdaughters: Lindsay and Jessica; and  grandchildren: Eric, Jessika, Leif, Eric, Sam, Cody, Eliza, Ivy and Luca.