Martin Leroy "Marty" Smith

Martin and his twin sister were the sixth and seventh children born to Eva Kropf Smith and LeRoy Bigler Smith in Salt Lake City. He graduated from Granite High School in 1968 where he lettered in track and made many lifelong friends.

Marty died of liver cancer, and a second unidentified cancer, which had metastasized throughout much of his body.

Marty served a Great Lakes Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had many fond memories of his experiences and the people that he met there. He served in many church callings throughout his life. He was serving as the ward sacrament meeting greeter which he thoroughly enjoyed. He was also serving as a primary teacher which he also enjoyed. The children in his class each sent him get well cards with personal messages like "I really love you as my teacher" and "you make me laugh every Sunday". Marty enjoyed going to the temple and doing temple work. He was attending the temple once a week, which was a recent commitment he had made to himself.

Marty married and had five children who were so dear to his heart. He always tried to make Christmases very special for them and took them to California every other year. He was also very close to his mother, his siblings and their families and enjoyed all of their extended family activities and reunions.

From a very young age Marty read the sports statistics daily in the newspaper and became known to his friends as the sports authority! His favorite teams were the U of U Utes, BYU and the Detroit Lions. He was also a history buff and read many biographies and other history books. He was an avid reader and was always reading something. For most of his career he worked as a sales distributor.

Marty had a gregarious personality and made friends easily. He loved to tease and joke with people. He moved to St. George, Utah about 15 years ago and made many friends there. One of those friends was Buzz (Robert Bussy) and for the last ten years he and Buzz were housemates and great companions. Buzz wrote, "I know he was revered by his friends, being truly spiritual, having a trustful smile and known as the sports authority, besides being a Super person to know, I feel humbled and privileged to be a good friend of Martin LeRoy Smith."

Marty is survived by his children, Holly (Troy) Villines, Brandy (Kevin) Price, Shawn (Tanya) Smith, Shelley (Denny) Carty, Kristy Smith and grandchildren River, Kaiya, and Meishka. Also, his sisters, Marina Olson (his twin), Linda Haas, Rayona Carter, sister-in-law Judy Smith, his niece Debra (Greg) Cayias, his many other nieces and nephews, and his friend Robert (Buzz) Bussy. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Uri. Also, his parents, his brother Steve, sisters LeRoyce and Dorothy, brothers-in-law Brent Olsen and Marv Carter, nephews Mike and Kenny and niece Amy.

Marty's family would like to express their deepest appreciation to Bishop Bradley Crosby and the members of the Green Valley 4th Ward for the countless acts of service and compassion they rendered to Marty and his non-member housemate, Buzz, as they were both dealing with their cancers.

There will be a graveside service for Marty on Saturday, October 11, 2025, 11:00 AM, at Elysian Burial Gardens, 1075 E 4580 S, Salt Lake City, Utah.