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Gary Smith Obituary
Gary Lewis Smith, age 84, of Middletown, passed away on January 3, 2026, at University of Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City.
Gary was born on December 3, 1941, to John Serenes Smith and Eva Mae Smith Chelf in Muscatine, Iowa. Gary and Angela Kay Hill were united in marriage on November 5, 1983.
Gary served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman from 1961 to 1965 during the Vietnam War. He started and opened Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor in Burlington from 1976 to 1981. He was employed at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant for 38 years and retired in 2018 from the U.S. Army as a quality assurance specialist.
He is survived by his wife, Angela; son, Brian Lewis Smith (Leann Dahn); daughters, Valery Lynn Smith and Natalie Dawn Smith-Bartenhagen (Jeff); and stepdaughter, Melissa Hofmann.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Eva Chelf, and his in-laws, Dwight and Shirley Hill.
Gary was an avid runner, having run five marathons and 30 Bix 7 road races. Gary received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Iowa in 1970 and a Master of Business Administration degree from Saint Ambrose University in 1988.
His family has established a memorial in his honor for the annual KCPS Wreaths Across America for deceased veterans in Des Moines County cemeteries during the 2026 winter season.
The Burlington Area Veterans Honor Guard will render military rites at 2 p.m. Friday, January 9, at Lunning Chapel. A celebration of life visitation will follow until 5 p.m.
According to his wishes, cremation has been accorded and entrusted to the care of Lunning Chapel. Burial will be held in Aspen Grove Cemetery. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.lunningfuneralchapel.com
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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3 Entries
Dana Brant
January 10, 2026
Please know that you have my most sincere condolences. I worked with Gary for many years at the IAAAP. He was such a good man! Always helpful, always respectful. May he rest in peace.
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Sandy and Gary Miller
January 9, 2026
We are so sorry for your loss. God Bless your family,
With our Sympathies
Bob and Patti Shores
January 6, 2026
So sorry for your loss! Gary and I shared many a great time together training for BIX and other runs. Three times a week,
Rain or shine, summer or winter we ran.
He would come here or I would go to Middletown EARLY in the morning many times in complete darkness, those times we would run in the plant area often having to deal with angry dogs. In summer we run out the Geode road into the setting moon and back into the rising sun. Those were special times when we would share our thoughts and stories and laughter. A couple of times when he came to New London to run Patti would make us
breakfast and make "poop cakes" (pancakes with bran added), he laughed about that and would say it often. We also would share dialogue from our favorite funny movie (Monty Python in Search of the Holy Grail).
Great memories of a great guy!
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