Kenneth Ray Smith

Kenneth Ray Smith, 49, passed away February 16, 2015 at Dayton General Hospital. He was born October 5, 1965 to Terry and Judy (Watkins) Smith in San Miguel Naval Station, Philippines.

He then moved to Winter Harbor, Maine when he was only a few months old where he lived until he was three years old. In the Summer of 1969 they moved to Yokohama, Japan, where he and his family lived for two years. His Family then moved to Misawa Air Force Base, Japan, where they lived for three years. In 1974 the family moved to Novato, California where his father later retired from the Navy and moved to Dayton in October of 1975.

Ken graduated from Dayton High School in 1983 and went to Walla Walla Community College where he graduated with a degree in Ag Mechanics. During college Ken went to Texas for on the job training with Ag Mechanics. Later he came back to the Walla Walla Area and worked for Martin Archery before moving to Clarkston to work for High Country Archery. While working for High Country Archery he traveled to Dunlap, Tennessee. He later returned to Dayton and began logging when he met Tiffani Cooper and married in 1994 and divorced after 19 years. After logging for a couple of years he began farming and later went to work for Key Technology until 2004. In 2005 he went to Heavy Equipment Operator School and began working for Jerry Herling until he passed away.

Ken enjoyed spending time outdoors, with family and friends, and volunteering with the Special Olympics in Skiing and Track & Field.

He is survived by a daughter Victoria Bly of Waitsburg; three sons, Tyler Cooper, Devin Griffin, and Dylan Smith, all of Dayton; a former wife Tiffani (Cooper) Smith; his mother Judy (Vance) Price of Waitsburg; a sister Catherine Smith of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and a brother Wade (Melanie) Smith of Boise, Idaho; and three nieces all of Boise. He was preceded in death by his father Terry Smith and uncle Larry Smith.

A celebration of Kenneth’s life will be held on Friday, February 27, 2015 at 2 p.m. at the Starbuck Cemetery. The service will be followed by a potluck dinner at the Youth Building at the Dayton County Fairgrounds.