Obituary: John M. Smith

March 14, 1922 - October 26, 2013

John M. Smith of Carson City, Nevada, passed away on October 26, 2013 at the age of 91.

John was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa and grew up in Chicago. As a young man, he was drafted and served proudly in the Army Air Corps, ETO, during World War II. He was very proud of being a veteran, and in 2010 he was honored with a Lone Eagle Honor Flight to Washington DC to view the WWII Memorial. He said that was the trip of a lifetime.

In 1947, John married Anna Mae, the love of his life, and they were married for 66 years. In 1955 the family moved from Illinois to southern California, eventually settling down in Whittier where they lived happily for many years. In 1999, he and his wife moved to Carson City to be near their daughters who had both moved to this area.

John worked in the trucking industry for most of this life, first as a truck driver and then as a diesel mechanic. He was the guy who could fix anything. John had a lifetime love affair with cars of any kind, especially race cars. He loved sprint car racing and Indy car racing best of all. After he retired, he worked as mechanic and pit crew for several sprint car owners. That was the happiest time of his life!

John’s family meant everything to him. He is survived by his loving wife, Anna Mae; his twin daughters, Tricia Schodowski and Peggy Pollyea; as well as his beloved grandchildren, Reed Cozens (Barb), Renee Croteau (Aaron) and Ryan Pollyea (Dena), and great grandchildren, Jackson, Wyatt, Gabriel, Vivian, and Allison.

Private burial will be at the Northern Nevada Veteran’s Cemetery in Fernley, Nevada.