David Ralph Smith II

David Ralph Smith II ("Smitty"), 68, died peacefully on July 7, 2023 at The Hampton Memory Care after a several-years decline due to dementia. The dementia, though, had taken the true essence of him much earlier.

Smitty was born to David and Gaynell Smith on October 5, 1954 in Pottsville, PA. He made Schuylkill Haven, PA his home before enlisting in the United States Army in 1975. The Army took Smitty to Germany where he served as a combat engineer. In 1979 he was stationed at Ft. Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord) in Washington state where he served stateside for the remainder of his service period. He was a proud veteran and American.

Smitty is preceded in death by his mother, Gaynell Corcoran Smith; his father, David Smith; his only sibling, brother Mark Smith; and a grandson, Conner Dennin.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Darci Walker Smith of Olympia, to whom he was married 33 years; his daughter, Molly Smith and her former husband, Michael Dennin, both of Olympia, and their children Emily, 16; Katherine, 15; and Matthew, 10; and Darci's children, Rebecca Smith, of Olympia; and Jeff DeLaCruz, of Chicago. Smitty acted as a surrogate grandfather to the children of Mia Mehline, especially Makayla and Kristopher Howard, whom he loved as his own. He is survived, as well, by many other relatives, near and far, and chosen family too many to name but of no less significance in his life.

Smitty worked hard his whole life, but he played hard, too. He was an auto mechanic for most of his career, but his skillset extended far beyond cars. He could fix anything, make a yard look perfectly manicured, and BBQ with the best of them! Smitty loved to host backyard parties - complete with a pool, badminton, music, food, RULES, and so much laughter. Independence Day was his favorite holiday, probably because he loved America and explosions - those parties were the biggest of all (and the ones with the most rules!).

Aside from parties, Smitty was known for his love of and devotion to the kids in his life as well as to his pets and neighborhood stray animals. He was thrilled to become a Papa, and his grandkids - biological and otherwise - were the light of his life. Despite his sometimes-tough exterior, he was tender on the inside, and a man of his word. He could always be counted on to help, and gave freely of his time, energy, and resources to assist those in need.

Smitty will be missed by many but leaves behind a legacy of memories, life lessons, and a high bar by which to measure grit and integrity.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, please send your favorite memory or story about Smitty to missmolly12003@yahoo.com. A celebration of life will be planned in the coming months.