Jacob B. ’Jack’ Smith

Jack was born on October 4, 1924 in Baker, MT to Jacob and Pauline Smith. He grew up on the family farm and attended school in Mott, ND. After he graduated from high school in 1943, he entered the US Army Infantry for a short period of time before being honorably discharged for medical reasons. From 1943-1945, he worked for West Construction Co. in Whitehorse, Canada and in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska for the Department of Defense. Jack attended trade school in Wahpeton, ND to become a Linotype Operator. He married May Swift on June 24th, 1950 in Glen Ullin, ND. He worked in the printing trade for the Fargo Forum, Becker County Record, Kaye's Printing and numerous other newspapers in the region from 1945 to the mid 60s. Early in their marriage, Jack and May lived in West Fargo, ND, then moving to Detroit Lakes, MN in 1956 where they owned and operated the Sun Lite Grocery on Little Floyd Lake.After working in the printing trade, he worked for Detroit Township as an independent Maintenance Supervisor until his retirement. For many years he owned and operated a roto tilling business. Jack was a MN DNR fire warden for almost 40 years, was active in AARP and was a Minnesota Ombudsman for nursing home residents. Jack was a perfectionist and believed in leaving property in better condition than he found it. Jack and May remodeled three homes and built two new homes in the Detroit Lakes area. Jack's hobbies included gardening, traveling, writing, studying nutrition, and maintaining his prize Massey Ferguson 35 tractor. He was a prolific writer and had many articles published in Prime Life. Jack had an inquisitive mind and always felt he could learn and share something with everyone he met. Jack made several trips to Germany and Spain to visit his mother's family. Jack and May moved to Moorhead in 2005 after selling their home in rural Detroit Lakes, MN. Jack was a long time member of the United Church of God in Fargo, ND.Jack is survived by his wife, May; two daughters, Laurie Laney, Pasadena, CA; Jill Jeff Berg, Barnesville, MN; one son, Garner Smith, Beijing, China; two grandchildren, Sheena Berg, Moorhead, and Sasha Berg, UND.He is preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Mary Ganser.