Jon R. Smith, 70, Valley Falls, died Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at
Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
He was born on July 9, 1940, at Elgin, IL, the son of Archie and Marie Evans Smith. He graduated from Elgin Illinois High School.
Jon was a dairyman at Dodgeville, WI. In 1976 he was named Outstanding Farmer for the Mid-States Region of the American Milk Producers, Inc. He served on the Farmers Cooperative Board of Iowa County in Wisconsin. After moving to Kansas in 1989, he was a salesman for Hubbard Feeds. He was vice-president of the Kiwanis Club at Highland and was a member of the Muscotah United Church where he served as a deacon.
He married Rose Carlton on Sept. 18, 1959, at Elgin, Il. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Survivors include his wife, Rose, of the home; three sons, Kenneth (Deb) Smith, Madison, WI, Donald (Tina) Smith, Dodgeville, WI, and Ronald (Stephanie) Smith, Ft. Worth, TX; a daughter, Suzanne (Tracy) Willhoite, Valley Falls; a brother, Wilbur Smith, Phoenix, AZ; a sister, Mary Schuetz, Ashton, IL, and six grandchildren, A.J., Beau, Conor, Christopher, Mackenzie and Brittany.
The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 9, 2011, at Mercer Funeral Home in Valley Falls. Burial will be at the Spring Grove Cemetery east of Valley Falls. Visitation will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Sunday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Muscotah United Church or to the American Cancer Society and sent in care of the funeral home, PO Box 6, Valley Falls, KS 66088.