Charles Smith

Charles Smith Jr. Livestream

Charles Smith Funeral Folder

Larchwood, IA

     Charles Smith Jr. age 86 of Salem, South Dakota formerly of Larchwood, Iowa died Saturday, November 21, 2020 at Avantra Skilled Nursing Home in Salem, South Dakota.

     A funeral service will take place at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at Jurrens Funeral Home of Larchwood, Iowa with Reverend Daniel Deardoff officiating. Burial will follow in the Larchwood Cemetery.  There will be no public luncheon following the service.

     A link will be available here on the website to view the funeral service.

     Social distancing guidelines will be followed and masks are required at the service.

Charles “Bud” Smith was born on August 30th, 1934 to Florence (nee Arnold) and Charles Smith Sr. in Elkhorn, WI.  Charles was baptized on October 28, 1934 at First Evangelical Luthern Church of Lake Geneva, WI by Pastor H.J. Diehl. He was confirmed on March 21^st, 1948. He attended school in Zenda, WI and high school in Walworth, WI until 11^th grade when he entered the military in November 1951. He did his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.

Bud served in the infantry during the Korean War where he was wounded in combat. Following his recuperation Bud returned to Korea where he served as an aviation mechanic. He met his future wife Betty Anderson while she worked at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Waukegan, IL. They were married on February 2, 1957 in Waukegan, Illinois.

Bud later served in Vietnam as a mechanic and a door gunner on a helicopter. He achieved the rank of Sgt. 1^st Class (E7) and served in the 1^st Infantry Division, “The Big Red One.” During his 25 years in the service he was awarded various decorations including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Medal, the Japanese Occupation Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. Bud and Betty lived in various locations while Bud continued to serve in the military including: Fort Eustis, Virginia; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Riley, Kansas; and Fort Carson, Colorado.

After his military service he worked in Junction City, KS and later at Miller Loaders in Larchwood, IA as a welder. Bud and Betty also lived in Milwaukee, WI and Larchwood, IA. In his younger years Bud enjoyed building and driving race cars. He also loved to work on all types of cars and you would often hear of Bud and Betty fishing the Iowa lakes. They were members of English Lutheran Church Larchwood, IA. Bud and Betty moved to an apartment in Brandon, SD in 2010 where they came under the pastoral care of Pastor Daniel Deardoff.  Bud also lived at South Ridge HealthCare in Sioux Falls and Avantara Skilled Nursing Home in Salem, SD where he passed away on November 21^st, 2020 at the age of 86 years, 2 months, 22 days.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife of 61 years, Betty; his brother Earl Smith; and sister May (Kenneth) Westphal.

Charles is survived by brother Howard (Lois) Smith of Hanover Park, IL; sister, June (Darwin) Clark of Fontana, WI; sister-in-law, Karen Smith of Zenda, WI; family friend Arnie Bjork of Sioux Falls, SD; nieces, nephews and other friends.