Joshua Thomas Cutter Smith

Joshua Thomas "Cutter" Smith
October 9, 1992 – November 5, 2025 • Age 33
This is not the version of his story we thought we'd be telling at 33. We thought we had decades left. More road trips, more "just one last episode," more late-night steaks and playlists. The kind of ordinary moments that seem ordinary until they're gone. But this is where we are, and he deserves to be remembered in a voice that sounds like the life he lived, not the buttoned up language people settle for when they're grieving.
Joshua Thomas "Cutter" Smith passed away with his wife and mother by his side Wednesday evening. He leaves behind a legacy built not on grand gestures, but on steady presence, deep loyalty, and quiet support.
Cutter was a man who worked with his hands. He was a maintenance technician at UGN, the V-CEO of Cat Patch Inc., and V-CEO of Patch Math. He was the quiet backbone of every project, plan, or crisis.
He was known for answering "How do you feel?" by mischievously answering "with my hands" and a laugh that will live on with his legacy. Humor was the bedrock of Cutter's spark. Drawing inspiration from the people he loved, a good comedy, and his favorite comedian George Carlin.
He lived on tattoos, hard rock and pirate metal, anime, video games, and a surprising devotion to Hallmark Christmas movies. A passion for motorcycles that began with his father, and the loss of someday to pick the hobby back up again.
Cutter had his own philosophy of life, though he'd deny it if you called it that: Believe in people without expectation. "Consciously half-a**" when perfection isn't worth the life it costs. Let other people have their emotions even when you don't know how to name your own. He was not spiritual, but he walked a kind of quiet wisdom anyway. He was not a talker, but he made room for other people to speak. Proud advocate for the removal of safety tags as population control.
Cutter is survived by his wife, Kayla Phelps; his mother, Shannon Ard Smith; stepmother, Linda Blair; nana, Janet Wilson; sister, Tori (Daryl) Kelly; brothers, Taylor Smith, Joshua Baird, Travis Johnson, Tim Powell, and Chris Strunk, along with many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. A special thanks extended to his mentor, Jason Irvine, who Cutter turned to for guidance after the loss of his father, John Smith (August 26, 2020). He is also survived by his dog Tenchi, cats, Tomallama, Teddy, and DJ; guinea pigs, Loo Loo and Chi Chi, and the 30+ colony cats he saved.
Cutter died of stage 4 rectal cancer, a diagnosis that came too late. In his honor, we offer this without softening:
Young men and women, if something feels wrong, get checked. Do not ignore pain. Do not let the medical system write you off or make you wait months for a test. Early screenings saves lives. We wish he had been given that chance.
One passage that stayed with Cutter throughout his life was from Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. He would want us to leave it here as a reminder of how small we are and yet how much meaning we still get to make.
"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being whoever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam"
Here we are on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam, befallen by the tragic loss of Cutter Smith far too soon. A man whose meaning will not die with him.
If he could close this himself, he would not offer a speech. He would shrug, smirk, and say: "Cry all you want, throw a party, and use my death for whatever your heart desires."
To honor Cutter's life, donations may be made to Cat Patch Inc., the sanctuary he loved and co-founded with his wife. Please visit: https://www.catpatchinc.org/ or https://www.catpatchinc.org/donate for more information.
A private celebration of life will be held for Cutter's family and friends. Please reach out to Kayla Phelps or Shannon Smith for more details.
You may sign the online tribute book at somersetundertaking.com
Somerset Undertaking Company & Crematory is entrusted with the arrangements for Joshua Thomas "Cutter" Smith.