Obituary of Wally Smith

Obituary Wallace Royden Smith was born in Fort St. John, BC on December 18, 1940 to Sue and Clarence Smith. Living on a farm in the Fish Creek area was a great place Wally and his siblings; Leonard, Jerry and Sally to grow up. After Wally completed his education in Fort St. John he worked for farmers and ranchers in the area. It was a big day when Wally finally had enough money to buy a Dodge car. In the late 1950's there were oilrigs, money, fast cars, rock 'n roll, and hard work which took Wally flying high into the 1960's. Sooner or later we all get slowed down the same way. Her name was Catherine Elizabeth Zinger from Regina, Saskatchewan. The two were married in 1964, followed by their three girls; Cynthia Ann (Cindy) in 1964, Corrine Lee (Cory) in 1966, and Debra Lynn (Debbie) in 1969. In the 1970's, Wally and his family traveled through the "boom" towns of Alberta and British Columbia following Wally's work. Finding themselves back in Fort St. John in the 1980's, Wally bought a farm and lakeside property and started his company Hatchet Oilfield Service. Wally enjoyed fishing, hunting and having fun with his family and friends. The three girls married in 1984, 1987 and 1993. Grandchildren followed through the 1990's and into 2000. In 2005, Wally and Cathy had four generations of family - they did their part in keeping the north settled. In 1998 when working for Anderson Exploration, Wally suffered a stroke. Now Wally the "come-back kid" needed to get his right arm moving again in order to keep his driver's licence. In 2002, Wally entered and won the Arm Wrestling at Wanum, Alberta - yes he used his right arm. His right arm and leg were working pretty well but the silver tongue and fast wit were a little slower. Wally loved to travel making his way to Australia in 1991 and following Cathy's win, a cruise in 2006. His camper, van or motor home covered a lot of ground in North America. Early retirement led Wally to boating, hunting, fishing, attending the rodeo and spending time with family and friends drinking a Pilsner and playing crib. On Saturday, March 27, 2010 at the age of 69, after an unfortunate accident, Wally passed away. He rode the oil & gas boom from the late 1950's to March 2010 - what a ride, life was good. We are grateful for everything you have done in this lifetime and will keep your memory in our hearts, forever. Services