With great sadness and gratitude his family would like to share that Owen Earl Smith has gone to his heavenly reward and rests in the loving arms of his Savior. Just a few days shy of 86 years old, Owen died of complications from pneumonia in the first hour of December 5, 2025 in Lakeland, Florida. He will be remembered as a gentle, creative soul with a dry wit, a beautiful singing voice and a strong faith in Jesus.

He was born in Fremont, Michigan in 1939 to William Earl Smith and Marguerite B. (Froelich) Smith, and raised on their fruit farm. The youngest of three and born over a decade later than his sister, Owen described his childhood as very happy and full of adventures both on the farm and in the area - exploring the orchards & woods with his beloved dog, fishing on a nearby lake with his dad and riding his bike with friends. The Smith family were active members of the Methodist church and Owen remained active in various churches his entire life, usually singing in the choir.

As a young boy, he attended The Packard School, a one-room school house a mile down the road, up to 6th grade. He was a favorite of his teacher Mrs. Gleason and she hired him over the winter breaks to keep the wood furnace going at the school so the pipes wouldn’t freeze. He’s one of the folks that can make the honest claim of “walking a mile through snow to school”! Owen then attended and graduated from Fremont High School, where he was popular and involved with many activities like marching band (played the baritone) and student government. He fondly remembers gathering glass jugs from the chemistry lab and forming a jug band with some buddies; then playing at various events around the Fremont area, often enjoying a day off high school and all the treats they could consume as payment for providing entertainment.

Owen was a proud graduate of Michigan State University, where he earned a B.A. with double major in geography and urban planning. During the summers he worked at Gerber Foods in Fremont and on the family farm. An avid sports fan, he’s been known to shout GO GREEN! at unexpected times, which always made his grandkids laugh. He cheered for the Michigan State Spartans football and basketball teams (decked out in MSU gear) from wherever he lived and shared this love for MSU teams with his son Cameron.

After college, Owen worked in urban planning for the city of Grand Blanc and eventually settled into a long career as a real estate appraiser in: Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Springfield, Missouri.

A devoted man of God, Owen’s faith in Jesus was the foundation of his life and home; which carried him through good times and bad. He rejoiced in God’s love through singing his praises in hymns and spending time in prayer. Owen and Nancee loved their various church communities, and found an especially comfortable home at Faith Wesleyan Church in Lakeland, where they attended in recent years. During their time in Holland, singing in the Evergreen Chorale was a great joy. Always animated and enthusiastic about his walk with Christ, Owen also loved the fellowship of Bible study groups.

Owen adored this beautiful earth and could name every tree, bird and plant he came across in Michigan. He was in awe of God’s creations and taught his kids to love & respect nature. One of his proudest achievements was designing and building a house with his wife for their young family in 1973, on five acres of woods in Kentwood, Michigan. Every summer they went camping in a big canvas tent in the Leelanau Peninsula and combed their favorite beaches on Lake Michigan for driftwood and Petoskey stones.

He is survived by his loving and supportive wife of 40 years, Nancee, and their affectionate cat, Ziggy. He is also survived by his four children with first wife, Linda Talbot Rizzolo - son Cameron Smith (Heather), daughters Tay MacIntyre, Jen Talbot Barnes (Patrick) and Meghan Caramagno (Dennis), along with eight grandchildren; Garett (Mackenzie), Hannah, and Lindsey Smith, Colette and Finnley Barnes, and Sam, Lena, and Leo Caramagno. Owen was delighted to welcome two great-grandbabies in recent years, Kennedy and Katrina Smith.

He was preceded in death by his two older sisters and their spouses; Paula Anthony (Harold) and Miriam Rasmussen (Louie), along with his parents and many wonderful aunts & uncles.

A born explorer and big dreamer, Owen had what he called “restless feet” and always longed to travel and see new places. While he spent his first 40 years living in Michigan, when he met his wife Nancee in New Mexico in the 1980’s, they embarked on an adventuresome second chapter. Their years together saw them move to several different states before retiring to Holland, Michigan and Lakeland, Florida. Owen & Nancee liked fresh starts and the potential of a new place. As a couple, they enjoyed looking at real estate together wherever they roamed. They also satisfied a mutual wanderlust by embarking on long road trips and taking many interesting trips overseas, including a river cruise into Russia. Always bursting with ideas, Owen would get what his mom referred to as “a wild hair” and launch intriguing projects. His passions were varied, from folk medicine cures to beekeeping to joining the alternative energy movement of the 1970’s, to Danish Modern design, raising emus for meat, to reading historical fiction about early settlers in America, to hunting down antique trunks to restore.

Owen had a lifelong heart for animals and a playful nature with beloved dogs and cats. As a boy, he raised a large flock of chickens for eggs and had a small business with his father, selling his eggs in the Fremont area. His faithful dog Boots helped him keep rats out of the barn and he loved to tell hilarious stories about their hijinks together.

Music was a great pleasure and comfort all the years of his life and he had a knack for picking up instruments and learning songs by ear. Blessed with an exceptional bass singing voice, Owen loved jazz, folk and sacred music. He won a full scholarship to Interlochan School for the Arts for a summer program during high school. As an adult he loved playing guitar and singing folk songs to his children. His animated & playful rendition of “Frog Went a Courting” endures as a wonderful memory of a fun dad.

Owen will be greatly missed and remembered with fond affection by family and friends. We are thankful he is free of suffering and at peace with his Heavenly Father.

A memorial celebration of Owen’s life is planned to take place in Fremont in early summer of 2026. His ashes will be interred next to his parents at Maple Grove Cemetery in Fremont. 

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