On February 15th, the patriarch and quintessential cowboy of our family met his wife in heaven. Mom was surely waiting on the other side of the moon for dad and he lassoed a shooting star and together they bucked across the galaxy and will spend eternity forever young. 

James Kenneth Smith was born November 19th 1937 to Harold and Rozella Smith in Bismarck, North Dakota. The family was poor and lived on the edge of society. In all there were 14 children and they learned early what it took to survive. The family was nomadic, often staying one step ahead of the law and authorities. Some looked down on the Smith's and in those days they lived in shacks, tents, and cabins on the banks of the Musselshell, Hill 57, Billings South side and other skid-row neighborhoods. 

Dad and his siblings had a tough childhood, but it taught them to stick together, have each other’s backs and persevere. Dad's early life shaped him into the best husband and father there ever was. 

At 11 years old, dad left Great Falls and hitchhiked north to the Sweetgrass Hills where a kind ranch wife took him in. He learned how to work cows, ride, fix fence, and he excelled at the rugged and hard work of being a cowpoke. Dot Morrison taught dad to read well enough and after a stint as a saddle bronc rider and seeing America as a stow away on freight trains, dad joined the US Army. Dad was not the kind of man who took orders from a drill sergeant and after punching his superior in the mouth, he decided to come home to Montana. 

Dad and his brothers were tough, handsome and the epitome of bad boys. One night in Conrad, MT dad saw a pretty, shy young nurse's aide and asked her to dance. Dad often joked that he had to marry mom because she sat on his doorstep and chased the other girls away. He was a storyteller. 

Dad married Carole Sowa on March 21st, 1964 at the nursing home in Conrad. They moved into a box car that had been converted to an apartment and dad went to work on road construction. There, travels building roads all over Montana, led them to Butte where dad was helping build Homestake. Mom became pregnant and dad made a promise to raise his kids in one place and give us roots he never had. 

Jim and Carole welcomed their oldest daughter Pam on December 3rd, 1966 and Karen was born May 28th, 1968. 

Mom and dad set out to build a life in Butte and dad worked for the Pit off and on, various long haul truck companies, and finally was hired on as a driver at Safeway, where he would stay for 18 years. Mom and dad bought a piece of land, put a mobile home on it and turned a field of sagebrush and crabgrass into a home where Pam and Karen were raised. Dad built the fences, laid the concrete and built the brick wall behind the woodstove. To this day the family brand is forever marked in the entry way on Sunset Drive.

Mom and dad ensured our childhood was amazing. We had horses, motor bikes, dad belonged to the Vigilante Saddle Club. We spent summers at Georgetown, Clark Canyon and many lake camping and building memories. Family traditions of Christmas, dad’s famous homemade rolls and bread along with the open invitation to have coffee every morning at mom and dad’s, made all who knew dad, love him. He never turned away a friend or family member in need. Our house was the hangout for friends and he shared his love of horses and family with all he knew. Mary Criscuolo Bouma remembers he was everyone’s dad, and Halli Atiyeh Perala shared her memories of him and his wit and charm. And charming he was, he could sit and talk to anyone and make a lifelong friend. And he did. He once rode his horse Comanche into the El Mar Bar and ordered himself a shot of Jim Beam. He was a character with his dark hair, Smith green eyes and dashing smile.

After Pam and Karen left home, Jim and Carole moved back to North Central Montana to Pendroy, where dad was retired and enjoyed his huge garden, going hunting, riding his four-wheeler around town and enjoying his grandkids. In the later part of their lives, they picked up and started over, and of course made a lasting impression on Pendroy and friends they made there. They moved to Conrad in 2011, and were beginning another chapter in their lives when mom was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away on January 27th, 2016. Dad’s heart was broken, his only love and sweetheart was gone, yet he held on for a year.

Mom and dad are together again dancing in heaven to a never ending waltz and riding that shooting star. We will miss you Jim, dad, grandpa. James K. Calista Hays Gardipee Hughes Augustus Smith. Call when you get home so I don’t worry about ya!

He is survived by daughters, Pam (John) Rozan of Butte, Karen (Jeremy) Hesser of Lighthouse Point, Florida; grandchildren, Amanda Welsh, Apollo Hesser, Heather (David) Berger, Bryce Hesser and Shelby Hesser; great-grandchildren, Lexie, Devan and Ethan. He is also survived by brothers, Buck Smith, Coty Smith and Spike Smith. Numerous nieces and nephews; friends and neighbors from all over Butte, Great Falls, Conrad and Choteau.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Carole Smith; parents Harold and Rozella Smith; brothers, Harold, Bub, Robert, Steve, William and Vernon; sisters, Peg, Phyllis, Caroline and Marvel.

Per their wishes both Jim and Carole’s remains will be spread near Butte at a later date.

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