Marion J. Smith

Name: Marion J. Smith

Calling Hours: Monday, December 29th from 2 to 8 pm at Weigel Funeral Home in Swanton

Service Hours: Tuesday, December 30th at 11:00 am in the Funeral Home

Sometime in the darkness of Christmas Morning, December 25th, 2008, Marion J. Smith, age 80, of Swanton, Ohio, and a native son of Kentucky, ended his journey through this life, peacefully in his sleep. His last breath was taken sitting in his favorite chair, wrapped in his favorite blanket. If Heaven is an understanding place, Marion now rests in the forgiving arms of a just Lord.

Marion was born August 17, 1928, in Harlan, Kentucky, to Granville and Betty (Scott) Smith. He worked as a truck driver for UPS, retiring in 1989.

Dad was a simple man who lived a simple, honest life. He never gained fame or earned great wealth. The man never stood with giants. The only ones who ever worshipped him as a hero were the eight strong children he raised with his wife Betty, the love which lasted his lifetime for the past 62 years. Their five sons, Bill (Gloria) Smith, Jack (Debbie) Smith, Louie (Denise) Smith, Ron (Kathy) Smith, Don (Gina) Smith, and their three daughters, Karen (Kim) Grossheim, Evelyn Castillo Smith and Linda (Brett) Carter, blessed them with thirty-nine grandchildren and sixty great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Arville Smith.

Marion was preceded in death by his parents; eleven brothers and sisters; and daughter-in-law, Sandra Smith.

Friends and family may visit Monday, December 29th from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Weigel Funeral Home in Swanton. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, December 30th at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home. Interment will follow at Ottawa Hills Memorial Park, with Rev. Brian Haller officiating at the graveside.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Lung Association or Swanton Fire & Rescue.

Sometime in the darkness of Christmas Morning, a quiet life quietly ended. The world is a colder place without our father. Go with God, Dad, to the rest you have so surely earned.

Residence: Swanton, Ohio

Interment: Ottawa Hills Memorial Park