'Citizen of the Year' Bud Smith passes away

Obituary
Las Vegas Review Journal


Bud Smith at home in 2005.

MELVIN SMITH JR. -- Melvin "Bud" L. Smith Jr., of Cima, Calif., passed away Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008, after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 76 years old.

Bud Smith was born Nov. 18, 1932, in Canistota, S.D., to Melvin Leroy Smith and Francis Campbell. He married Marilyn A. Day Feb. 28, 1952, who passed away in 1995.

He served in the military forces during the Korean War, during which he was stationed in Puerto Rico. Bud was a Las Vegas business owner of an appliance delivery and antenna installation service. He retired to his home in the East Mojave near Cima, now surrounded by the Mojave National Preserve, where he was a pillar of the community.

Bud Smith was instrumental in saving his neighbors' homes during the Hackberry Complex wild fires in 2005. He was awarded "Citizen of the Year" for his efforts by the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department.

Bud's home was a favorite camp site for the Norco Mounted Posse's Annual Mohave Trail Ride for many years. He will be greatly missed by family and friends.

Bud was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn; his parents, Melvin and Francis Smith; brothers, William and Eugene Smith; and his sisters, Frances Stephenson and Barbara Sireci. He is survived by his daughters, Peggy Goodnough, Rhonda Long, Patricia Jackson-Lemp, Jacqueline Smith and Shelley Smith; his son, Melvin Leroy Smith III, 13 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and his sister, Gloria Cowger.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Bunkers Memory Gardens, 7251 W. Lone Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89129.