Obituary of Richard H. Smith
Kendall – Richard H. Smith passed away on October 5, 2019 at the age of 72. He is survived by his loving wife, Deborah “Debbie”; his children, Tim (Denise) Smith, Tom Smith & Tricia Smith; his brother, David (Katherine) Smith; his grandchildren, Dyllan Ross, Alexandra Nundy (Nick Nundy), Julia Smith, Caroline Smith, CaSandra Jasso (Isaac Jasso Jr.), Margarita Mendez, Jesus Mendez Jr., Maya Mendez, Lindsay Sandoval; and his great-grandchildren, Bailee Baker and Aubree Nundy.
Family and friends are invited to call on Friday, October 11th from 4-7 PM at the Thomas E. Burger Funeral Home, Inc., 735 East Avenue, Hilton. Richard’s Funeral Service will take place on Saturday, October 12th at 11 AM at the Kendall United Methodist Church, 1808 Kendall Road, Kendall, NY 14476. Interment will take place at Lakeside Cemetery at 2 PM.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Kendall United Methodist Church, 1808 Kendall Road, Kendall, NY 14476.
The following are words from Richard's Memorial Service:
Hello,
I am Ben Brighty, the nephew of Richard Smith. I speak today on behalf of myself and my cousin, Dyllan, Ricks's grandson. I will not take much of your time here today, but I wanted to offer you all a glimpse into the life of the man we knew so well.
We had the privilege of working with Rick in our early youth. He was our supervisor at Wedgewood Nursing Home. During this time, Dyllan and I would spend our summers providing maintenance, under Rick's guidance, at the nursing home.
We would work hard but that's not to say that Rick wouldn't take care of us. He was a man who believed morning began with a cup of coffee. Always taking Dyllan and I to the gas station, at 4 am, to start our day of work.
You would think two teenage boys would have the energy to outwork anyone, but for those of you that knew Rick, Dyllan and I often found ourselves struggling to keep up.
Case in point when Rick would bring us in at 4am Dyllan and I would often start our day in the laundry room. Making a bed out of fresh linens and passing out for a few hours. Well, one day Rick must have picked up on not hearing much coming from in there and flew the door open. Next thing we know we have metal wet floor signs being flung at us. A sign it was time to get back to work.
One day Rick assigned Dyllan and I to seal the roof. After a quick inspection, he told us to not horse around as he didn't want us pushing each other off the roof. Rick climbed down the ladder and probably made it to about the breakroom when his cell phone was going off. It was Dyllan calling him to let Rick know I was stuck to the roof. That’s all Dyllan managed to say before Rick was up the ladder wondering what we did and how I was stuck. You see my foot had found the only nail on the entire roof. Off to Ann Tallman's office, the DON for medical attention where I slightly remember Rick asking her if we could just glue the hole in my foot followed by meeting with Amy Daly, the administrator to explain what had happened. I think we had more meetings than she would have liked given the circumstances always revolving around Dyllan or I being injured.
Despite any injury, Rick always brought us to lunch by 11 am. Dyllan and I always knew what Rick would suggest, “street meat.” We would find our way down to the corner with him to get lunch. Rick, happy with his burger letting us know he has us for 3 more hours.
Now one thing all three of us unfortunately shared was stomach issues. On top of this we also only had one bathroom close to Ricks office. Meaning after lunch we would be pushing and tripping one another to get their first. Lets just say rick was quicker than he looked.
None of us live a perfect life. But when we think of him it's hard not to think of the good moments we all have shared with him.
Thank you for time
AND
Words by Rich's brother:
Being Rich’s brother is one of the greatest memories of my life. From the time our mom
brought him home to having his hand in mine at his last breath we have always been best
friends and brothers.
Rich and I spent most of our childhood with a single parent, our mom, so we quickly learned
how to do things for ourselves. As we grew up, we learned automotive mechanics, plumbing,
electrical repair, home remodeling, and many other skills. After Rich and Deb were married,
they were able to rebuild and update an old farmhouse, maintain numerous vehicles, and
design and oversee construction of their current home.
My brother excelled at being a husband to Deb, a father to Tim, Tom, and Trish, grandfather and
father image to Dyllan, grandfather, great grandfather, and an uncle. He always put his family
above all else and worked faithfully to provide for them.
Rich served his country as a Marine and saw combat in Vietnam at Fire Support Base Khe Sanh.
He was an Artillery Forward Observer Radio Operator and we exchanged many stories of our
similar experiences in combat. Rich exited the Marine Corps with many Medals, and a Good
Conduct Ribbon, which amazes me after some of his stories!
Speaking of stories, I cannot remember my brother without repeating my most memorable.
Many have heard the story about him splitting my head open with a snow shovel during a
discussion about the location of the entrance to our snow igloo, or about the time we drove our
mother’s jeep through the rear of the garage and spent days repairing it before she returned.
My brother was able to accomplish all that he did being part of a team. His teammate, love of
his life, most ardent supporter in all that he did, was his wife Debbie. She was with Rich through
his military absence from the family to his bedside at his final breath. Her continual support
and encouragement, night and day, were the primary reason Rich was able to endure the
medical treatments for leukemia.
Rich fought his disease with the same intensity and tenacity he approached all challenges.
Although he succumbed to leukemia, and we miss my brother, all should take comfort in
knowing that there is one more angel above us.
AND
Grandpa,
In the summer we would go to seabreeze, as our family getaway. Grandpa wasn't the youngest, but he was on every ride with us, even making us go on rides we didn't want to. Every tube ride, every trip on the Jack Rabbit, every flight of stairs, and even on the huge water slide drop that turned his swimming trunks into a speedo. He was there. When we would go to breakfast with Nana and Papa, you always knew he would get the same thing (French toast with extra crispy bacon). He wasn't always the nicest, especially when you took food into his living room after he specifically told you not to, but with every sarcastic comment or every grumbling comment under his breath, the love he had for his grandchildren was immeasurable. The way he called you "kiddo" even when you were in your 20's already. The way he made sure any boy that came into his granddaughters lives knew he was a Vietnam Vet that knew how to use a gun. In his own papa way, he taught us how to be strong, and that nothing matters more than family.
