(I have a video that I am trying to get in this blog post and will soon as I can unlock the video)

I went to my sister Emily's house today and she pulled out some CD's and DVD's and found this one that I had made shortly after our Dad, Max James Smith Died.  The photos you will see are in chronological order of the events that occurred prior to his death.  This is how things proceeded.

Dad had been going to Dialysis for his kidneys had failed.  He was so ill, that he had to be taken care of at Heritage Convalescent Center in American Fork.  There was a van that picked him up there, and took him to dialysis in Provo, Utah.  Mother stood vigil, during the hours of dialysis, and made sandwiches and brought food and drink for him to keep up his strength while laying there.  After it was done, Dad was brought home by the same van to the Convalescent center.  

Dad had been having strokes during dialysis, and needed physical therapy as well.  One day, after having another stroke during dialysis, the doctor told him that he needed to make a decision.  He was having strokes every time he went to dialysis, so one time he could be left paralyzed, or worse from the strokes as they would further complicate his ill health.  He needed to have dialysis in order to live because his kkidneys had shut down.  He had to make a decision on how he would live or die.  Dad decided to go off of dialysis, in which the doctors gave him only a couple weeks to live. This was his decision and frankly I believe that it took great courage to make that kind of decision.  Dialysis stopped, and our whole family began to live each day to the fullest. 

Realizing that Thanksgiving was Dad's favorite holiday, we knew that he would not make it to celebrate Thanksgiving, so our whole family kicked into gear, and speedily planned a Thanksgiving feast of all time.  We did this in 2 days.  Dennis and I prepared our home for guests... the entire Smith family which consisted of all of Dad's children, Grand Children.  We divided up the food assignments, and set up tables, and prepared the house for the Celebration of thanksgiving early that year. 

On Sunday everyone came, and we had the greatest time we ever.  Everyone was determined to be happy and celebrate Dad's life. This would be the best Thanksgiving we had ever had, because we were celebrating what would be the last days of our fathers life.  All the Thanksgiving favorites were spread out on the bar and we began to dish up the first plate for Dad.  Dad said, "Forget all the rest of that stuff... just bring me a big fat turkey leg.  So we did.  Becky sat vigil while he ate, making sure he didn't choke and wiping off his chin.  All of us took turns sitting by dad, and visited with him while he enjoyed that turkey leg.  He said, "I believe this is the best turkey leg I have ever eaten". 

Lots of tears were shed, but through them we all savored the day.  We gathered after dinner, and had a program.  Becky brought her Thanksgiving book and read it to the Children.  Harold told the story of the First Thanksgiving and Old Gentleman Gray.  Katie had made up Thanksgiving jokes to tell throughout the program that kept everyone laughing and having a great time.  From time to time, I caught a glimpse of Dad, with tears welling up in his eyes, looking around his posterity.  We knew what he was thinking, and we all felt the very same way.

Well Dad survived much longer than the doctors had predicted, so thanksgiving came once again and we celebrated twice that year.  Dad didn't eat much the second time, and was very much in a weakened condition.  He didn't complain, but tried to smile. 

Over at the convalescent center, our family continued to celebrate his last days with him.  Dad was able to have all of those things that he had missed, with his diabetes and kidney failure.  He had pizza which he loved, and wanted it more than just once.  Our family had FHE at the Convalescent center where Sara and Joe Danced, and so did Natalie and Jenny.  The music to Dad's favorite song was played,

The twelfth of Never, and Dad sang the words.  We had such a wonderful time for as long as he could.

Finally Dad fell into a coma, and it wasn't long before he passed away.  Our family had gathered around him as we had been told that his time was very short.  Some of the family had left to go get lunch , but others had stayed.  Those who were there, were told to gather around him by the hospice worker as Dad was showing signs that he would pass very soon.  He was still in a coma.  Those who were there gathered around, and all of the sudden, Dad awoke from his coma, with a start.  His eyes were wide open and he was looking right at Mom.  He tried to speak but could not.  I told mother to tell him all the things he needed to hear, and she smiled, held his hand and told him how she loved him and that she gave him permission to leave her.  She told him that her family would take care of her, and that it was his time to go be with Heavenly Father.  She hugged and kissed him.  Of course we were all crying.  It was only seconds after that that he gasped and instantly we witnessed the light going out of his eyes.  We all knew that he was gone. 

This may sound silly, but I have heard stories of people who had passed, lingering above their body and witnessing the view below, so I turned and looked up and told Dad I loved him and good by.

This is how things transpired.  Now you know what this video is about... the year we celebrated Thanksgiving Twice.

Max James Smith - The year we celebrated Thanksgiving Twice.

(I have a video that I am trying to get in this blog post and will soon as I can unlock the video)

I went to my sister Emily's house today and she pulled out some CD's and DVD's and found this one that I had made shortly after our Dad, Max James Smith Died.  The photos you will see are in chronological order of the events that occurred prior to his death.  This is how things proceeded.

Dad had been going to Dialysis for his kidneys had failed.  He was so ill, that he had to be taken care of at Heritage Convalescent Center in American Fork.  There was a van that picked him up there, and took him to dialysis in Provo, Utah.  Mother stood vigil, during the hours of dialysis, and made sandwiches and brought food and drink for him to keep up his strength while laying there.  After it was done, Dad was brought home by the same van to the Convalescent center.  

Dad had been having strokes during dialysis, and needed physical therapy as well.  One day, after having another stroke during dialysis, the doctor told him that he needed to make a decision.  He was having strokes every time he went to dialysis, so one time he could be left paralyzed, or worse from the strokes as they would further complicate his ill health.  He needed to have dialysis in order to live because his kkidneys had shut down.  He had to make a decision on how he would live or die.  Dad decided to go off of dialysis, in which the doctors gave him only a couple weeks to live. This was his decision and frankly I believe that it took great courage to make that kind of decision.  Dialysis stopped, and our whole family began to live each day to the fullest. 

Realizing that Thanksgiving was Dad's favorite holiday, we knew that he would not make it to celebrate Thanksgiving, so our whole family kicked into gear, and speedily planned a Thanksgiving feast of all time.  We did this in 2 days.  Dennis and I prepared our home for guests... the entire Smith family which consisted of all of Dad's children, Grand Children.  We divided up the food assignments, and set up tables, and prepared the house for the Celebration of thanksgiving early that year. 

On Sunday everyone came, and we had the greatest time we ever.  Everyone was determined to be happy and celebrate Dad's life. This would be the best Thanksgiving we had ever had, because we were celebrating what would be the last days of our fathers life.  All the Thanksgiving favorites were spread out on the bar and we began to dish up the first plate for Dad.  Dad said, "Forget all the rest of that stuff... just bring me a big fat turkey leg.  So we did.  Becky sat vigil while he ate, making sure he didn't choke and wiping off his chin.  All of us took turns sitting by dad, and visited with him while he enjoyed that turkey leg.  He said, "I believe this is the best turkey leg I have ever eaten". 

Lots of tears were shed, but through them we all savored the day.  We gathered after dinner, and had a program.  Becky brought her Thanksgiving book and read it to the Children.  Harold told the story of the First Thanksgiving and Old Gentleman Gray.  Katie had made up Thanksgiving jokes to tell throughout the program that kept everyone laughing and having a great time.  From time to time, I caught a glimpse of Dad, with tears welling up in his eyes, looking around his posterity.  We knew what he was thinking, and we all felt the very same way.

Well Dad survived much longer than the doctors had predicted, so thanksgiving came once again and we celebrated twice that year.  Dad didn't eat much the second time, and was very much in a weakened condition.  He didn't complain, but tried to smile. 

Over at the convalescent center, our family continued to celebrate his last days with him.  Dad was able to have all of those things that he had missed, with his diabetes and kidney failure.  He had pizza which he loved, and wanted it more than just once.  Our family had FHE at the Convalescent center where Sara and Joe Danced, and so did Natalie and Jenny.  The music to Dad's favorite song was played,

The twelfth of Never, and Dad sang the words.  We had such a wonderful time for as long as he could.

Finally Dad fell into a coma, and it wasn't long before he passed away.  Our family had gathered around him as we had been told that his time was very short.  Some of the family had left to go get lunch , but others had stayed.  Those who were there, were told to gather around him by the hospice worker as Dad was showing signs that he would pass very soon.  He was still in a coma.  Those who were there gathered around, and all of the sudden, Dad awoke from his coma, with a start.  His eyes were wide open and he was looking right at Mom.  He tried to speak but could not.  I told mother to tell him all the things he needed to hear, and she smiled, held his hand and told him how she loved him and that she gave him permission to leave her.  She told him that her family would take care of her, and that it was his time to go be with Heavenly Father.  She hugged and kissed him.  Of course we were all crying.  It was only seconds after that that he gasped and instantly we witnessed the light going out of his eyes.  We all knew that he was gone. 

This may sound silly, but I have heard stories of people who had passed, lingering above their body and witnessing the view below, so I turned and looked up and told Dad I loved him and good by.

This is how things transpired.  Now you know what this video is about... the year we celebrated Thanksgiving Twice.

Family Reunion 2011

Finally once again, that time has rolled around to be thinking of the next family reunion. The date has been set, and it will be:
September 3, 2011, which is Labor day weekend. Please mark your calendars. It will be held at Rotary Park in the West Pavillion, in American Fork. The reunion will go begin at 10 am and go until 1:00pm. At 10:15am there will be family business discussed, so please be on time.

So far there is one assignment and that is for every family head, or each of Adelbert and Della's children, to provide a personal history of that child. (Doyle, Ron, Max, Hank, Doris) Doris has some personal history of Adelbert and Della all written up so we will get that too.
Each history needs to be put on a DVD or CD and 5 copies made and brought to the reunion, one for each of the 4 brothers and sister. It will then be the responsibility of these family heads to make copies of each of the CD's for their children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren.

Doris has been doing some research and has a family health history for many of our ancestors as well. This is vital to future generations, so we can be prepared to face health concerns throughout our family. Part of the Family business, will be talking about this and learning how to prepare our own family health history.

As soon as I get an invitation designed, I will email it to all of you who I can reach via email. I will give a copy to those who don't have email so that they can get it to their children and extended family.

More info to come.....

It's soon to be 50 years of wedded bliss for Hank & Gladys Smith

Jodi sent these pictures to post of Hank and Gladys. They are so darling, and it is fun to go back in time, some 50 years, to remember their wedding and everything after that. To get a close up of the photos or save it to your picture files on your computer, just click on the picture. Enjoy the photos, and if you have any comments to add, please do so at the bottom of this post by clicking on "Comments".

Do you have a story to tell? Please email me at ktgauger@comcast.net with your Smith Family Story and your photos and I will do the rest.

This is a picture of Max James Smith when he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Just as a side note, one of Dad's favorite songs was the Ballad of the Green Beret.


Max Smith and Connie Robinson at the Senior Hop. Connie use to call this beautiful blue gown her "Alice Blue Gown".


These are scanned photos of the wedding reception of Max and Connie Smith. The quality isn't great but I think you can see and recognize a few of the people in the wedding line... in fact, many are Smith's including Lou Jeanne & Ron, Doris, Grandpa Adelbert and Grandma Della and maybe others that that I don't recognize. I will post the photo below as well as it will be clearer at a smaller size.

Just a cute little story that I thought you might like to hear. Max was totally in love with Connie until the day he died. Sometimes he didn't act like it but we knew his love for Mom was deeply embedded in his heart and soul. He had a favorite song that he listened to over and over, and even requested it to be played at weddings. He would sing it to Connie or just burst out in song from time to time as he lay ill in his last years. Even while he was dying he would sing this song or ask for someone to play it on the piano or violins. Whether he just waxed sentimental or that the song truly expressed his love for Connie, it became a family treasure as we think about memories of Dad. The song he loved and sang was "The Twelfth of Never".

Another cute little story about Dad was when he was in his last days of life, and shortly after he was taken off Dialysis, he had a little conversation with Kathleen. He said, "Katie, I want you to go down to a jewelry store and buy a beautiful diamond ring for you mother from me. He said, charge it to my credit card. Bring it back and wrap it up in a beautiful box and tie it with a bow. He said that he wanted to give it to her. He then went on telling Kathleen how much he loved Connie and what a beautiful woman she has always been. He said, " She deserves jewels, rubies, pearls, because she is the best woman on earth. His eyes welled up with tears, and he cried as he expressed his love for his wife Connie. The rest of the story goes like this in my own words...

I went to Mothers house and somehow got her to try on my own wedding ring, which ended up being just the right size for her finger. Mother didn't suspect a thing. I drove down to a jewelry store and bought a gold anniversary ring that held 8 tiny sparkling diamonds. When the ring was held up the sides had the words "love" written on both sides in yellow gold. It seemed perfect to me because their love produced 8 children, which these diamonds represented their own jewels, and the love that Dad had for Mom would last until the twelfth of never. I also knew that this would be an investment of love because I knew that Dad didn't have money to pay for the ring. No amount of money could possibly be the same kind of payback that I received when I took the ring to Dad to show it to him.

He was in Heritage Convalescent Center and feeling very ill. When I entered his room, he looked at me and the first thing he said was, "Did you get the ring?" I told him I did, and proceeded to take it out of my purse. He asked, Does it sparkle and does it have diamonds? I assured him it did, and took it over for him to see. He began to cry and said, "This is just perfect, it is just what I would have got for her." He cried and rehearsed out loud the words that he would say to Mom when he gave it to her. I pointed out the words "Love" on both sides of the ring, so when mother looked down at her ring, she would see the Love that Dad had for her. He just couldn't quit crying, and he acted like a teenage boy about to get his first kiss. He was actually giddy with excitement. He kept bursting out into song, singing the twelfth of Never.

I took the ring back home to Aline and wrapped it up in shiny paper, tied a beautiful bow around it and found a little card for Dad to sign. I knew that Mom would be coming back to the Convalescent center to spend the rest of the day with Dad, so I hurried back to American Fork to give it to him. When I arrived, Mom was already there, and I secretly gave the wrapped gift to him without Mother suspecting anything. I then wished him good luck and left the room so that he could have privacy when he gave Mother the ring.

The rest of the story will have to be told by Connie, but what I do know is that she loved the ring, and wears it to this day. Dad was very ill in the last years of his life and didn't always behave in a way that represented his best self and feelings. This story was representative of what he truly felt as I am sure he had so many thoughts knowing that he only had days left to live. He was very corageous and was in constant good spirits even though he knew his last moments of life were drawing to an end. Dad was a fighter, and he fought a good fight.

Max's family knew that he would not live much longer, and every one of his children came down to the Convelescent Center to be with him. We spent many hours there talking by his bedside and out in the lobby. The entire time Dad was still in a comma, but the Hospice worker told us that it would not be much longer. A few of the children left for a short while, and unfortunately at that moment, his breathing became labored, and we knew he would soon pass. Those of us who were there, his children and some grandchildren, surrounded his bed when he took his last breaths, he surprisenly enough awoke from the comma that he had been in for several days. Mother had situated herself right in front of him just in case he did awaken so that she would be the one that he could see. Suddenly Dad did open his eyes and looked right at Mom. He tried to speak to her but no words would come out. He seemed to have an urgency to speak but couldn't. I whispered into Mom's ear and told her to tell him all the things that she knew he would want to hear from her. Mother leaned close to dad, and then began to express her love telling him that he didn't have to fight anymore and giving her permission for him to go home. She told him to not worry that her children would take care of her. He looked so earnest into her eyes as she expressed her love the whole time mother held Dad's hands. After mom stopped speaking, all of those who surrounded his bed, saw the light go out of his eyes. We knew at that instant, he had passed on.

I have heard so many stories of people whose spirits had left their bodies, rising to the top of the room watching the scene below. My thoughts were that if he were still there, watching the scene below, I wanted to say good bye, so I looked up toward the cieling and said, "Good bye Dad, I love you!" All of us hugged each other and cried and lingered together in his room as family, knowing we had witnessed something amazing, a scene of great eternal love, and the kindness of a loving Heavenly Father who was taking back home His son. All of us expressed how happy we were that Dad didn't have to suffer anymore and that right now he was free from pain, and the torment that he had been living with for so many years. This was an amazing experience, one that even in the senility of old age, my memory will be hard pressed to forget.

2009 Smith Famiy Reunion/ 50th Aniversary

I wanted to add this announcement to the blog, just in case anyone ever visits it. I think by now, our Mom's have probably spread the word that on August 29th, 2009, the 3rd annual Smith Family Reunion will be happening. We will also celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary for Hank and Gladys. Two great reasons to mark your calendar for this special occasion. It will be held in the American Fork Senior Citizens Center. Jody Smith has once again graciously offered to host the meal that will be enjoyed, so make sure to RSVP to your Mothers how many will attend from your own family, so that Jody can know how many to plan for.

Last year, the Smith Family reunion was held at Doris and Loren's home. It was once again a great time. Doris went the extra mile and prepared our Smith Family Genealogy books for each family. That was truly a lot of work and we appreciate the effort and time it took to create them.

Make sure to scroll down and view the Reunion album pages that were created for you to print off for yourselves or to just enjoy from this blog. I am sure you will find yourself pictured in at least one of them. Enjoy!

This obituary came out today in the Provo Herald Newspaper

Adelbert Doyle Smith
Adelbert Doyle Smith, 82, passed away February 3, 2009 in American Fork, Utah. Born April 6, 1926 in American Fork to Adelbert and Della Doyle Smith. Doyle married Reva Colledge on Oct 27, 1947 and sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.

He served during WW II in the Marines. Doyle was a life long wool grower, farmer and cattle rancher. He worked as a line working foreman for Utah Power & Light. He coached pony league baseball. Former president of the Deer Creek Land and Livestock Company, member of Utah Lake Land Owners Association. Served as a dedicated home teacher, ward clerk and counselor in the Bishopric.

Survived by his wife, Reva of American Fork; 3 sons and 1 daughter, Blake (Julie) Mosida, Utah; Marlin (Mary), Am Fork; Scott (Lisa), Cedar Hills; Arlene Smith, Provo; 11 grandchildren; 21 great grandchildren; siblings Ronald (LuJean), Am Fork; Ralph (Gladys), Las Vegas, NV; Doris (Loran) Cook, Orem; and sister-in-law Connie R. Smith, Am Fork. Preceded in death by his son Russell J. Smith and brother Max Smith.

Funeral services will be held Friday, February 6, 2009 at 11 am in the American Fork 6^th Ward Chapel, 300 North 100 East. Friends may call Thursday evening from 6 to 8 pm at the Anderson & Sons Mortuary, 49 E 100 N, Am Fork and Friday at the church from 9:45 to 10:45 am prior to services. Interment, American Fork Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent at andersonmortuary.com

Reva, Blake, Marlin, Scott & Arlene, we extend to you as your family, our heartfelt love and sympathy at the passing of your husband and father. May you feel the comfort and love of our Heavenly Father as you morn his loss.