Gary L Smith

Gary L. Smith

On the morning of March 25, 2026 Gary Smith passed away peacefully with his daughter Anita by his side on the family farm located in Troy, Idaho. Gary was born on May 30th, 1940 to Walter and Elna Smith, not too far away from where he currently lived on Burnt Ridge. During his high school career Gary and family had moved to Athena, Oregon where he would meet his wife for the next sixty years, Sharlet Rogers. Gary and Sharlet were married on June 1st, 1960 in Cour d’ Alene Idaho. Gary and Sharlet lived in Culdesac, Idaho. During this time Gary ran a small fueling station until Gary enlisted in the Airforce. Over the course of the next few years the couple welcomed the rest of their family Anita, Shari, and Dee. Gary was stationed at Fort Smith in Michigan for four years and was honorably discharged in 1968. The family returned home in 1969 and moved to Troy, Idaho where he and his wife would spend the rest of their lives.

Gary worked for Hilding Linderman at the Shell Station located in downtown Troy which today is now known as the fueling station. From there Gary spent the remainder of his career working for Potlatch Forest Incorporated wearing many hats. He first worked as an on-call pipefitter for the mill in Lewiston, before he found his permanent home in Bovill working on their fleet working on everything from large-scale industrial logging equipment to their pickup trucks. He loved the woods, and the family even jokingly stated that even with the ruggedness of the area Gary would be able to find his way back if someone tried to dump him in the woods anywhere up there since he knew it like the back of his hands. After the mill in Bovill closed, Gary remained closely connected to PFI and continued the maintenance of their fleet from his own personal garage. Word spreads fast when you do good work, and soon Gary opened his own business known as ‘Shade Tree Repair’ where people would bring their cars from all over for him to look under their hood!

While Gary could appear intimidating at times, and a rugged mountain man he was truly a teddy bear at heart. Nothing greater a love for this man than for his family, friends, muscle cars, and of course Ludafisk a tradition that he looked forward to ever year at Christmas time. He will be remembered for this infectious laugher, as well as the simple sense of humor that could make a room laugh, a sense of humor that his grandson accredits Gary for giving to him. Simple things were what Gary enjoyed. Company, warm coffee, cold spirits, a simple cigarette, and a contemplation of the world around him. All fond memories that we are sure people have of him. We are sure the reason he was called home was the cache of old Chevy’s that were waiting in for Heaven for him to fix (Sharlet just doesn’t know about them yet) and God knew the right man for the job.

Gary is survived by his daughters Anita (Gary) Brumley of Lewiston, Shari Braun of Lewiston, Dee (Joel) Kirkland of South Carolina; Grandson Dana (Misty) Gludt of Lewiston. There are also too many friends, family, and cousins to list on here but know that they were all in his heart! He was proceeded in death by his wife Sharlet, Brothers Arvo Smith; Stan Smith; Sister Bermajean Parkins; Grandson Dustin Gludt; and Parents Elna and Walter Smith.

There will be a private graveside service at Burnt Ridge cemetery for the family. There will be a celebration of life that will be announced for everyone to call in the later part of May. The family cannot express the amount of gratitude for the kind words, and the number of friends and family that have reached out. Gary was truly one in a million people and will be missed by so, so many.