Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 271399
Title: James E. Smith, Jr.
Date: 3/25/1934-10/1/2024
Creator:
Inscription/Marks: 3/25/1934
Summary: James Smith, Jr., 90, of Williston, ND, passed away October 1, 2024, at the Bethel Lutheran Nursing and Rehabilitation Home in Williston. Funeral services were held October 9, 2024, at the New Hope Church in Williston, with Pastor Aaron Hughes officiating. Burial was in the Riverview Cemetery in Williston. Jim was born on March 25, 1934, on the family farm north of Williston to Jimmie and (Pearl) Ione Smith. They resided there for six years before moving into town. He attended rural school in Williams County. As a boy, he enjoyed hunting for muskrats at a nearby creek. Jim graduated from Williston High School in 1952. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1953 completing basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, as an aircraft mechanic. He was then stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, AZ, for three and a half years. Following one particular leave, he was riding the train back when he met Carolyn Koeser. They married June 1, 1955, in Watford City. He was honorably discharged February 17, 1957. They then moved to Watford City where he was employed as a mechanic at OK Implement until 1959, following which they moved to Fargo, ND, where Jim enrolled at the Moler Barber School. After completing his courses there, the family relocated to Williston. He found work at the Modern Barber shop on Main Street. In 1964, Jim opened Parkway Barber Shop that was in front of The Black Gold Motel on Second Ave. West. During one of Williston’s oil booms, he moved his shop inside the Kotana Building. After 48 years of cutting hair, he retired in March of 2008. During this span of years, Jim did several evening and weekend (excluding Sundays, of course) jobs. These included traveling to Crosby, Grenora and the Air Force Base in Fortuna to cut more hair. At one point, he even did dog grooming. He went door to door selling World Book Encyclopedias, encouraged to do so by his supervisor and aunt, Effie Watts. He was one of the very few people who truly loved his work. In the rest of his spare time, Jim was an avid supporter of the Williston Keybirds and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a charter member of the Wesleyan Church in Williston. Every Sunday, he would pick up and then return children from Sunday School. Christmas time found him with others to put together the treat bags that were handed out to children following the Christmas program. If you knew Jim at all, you know he had a large, sweet tooth, maybe better yet, teeth. He could always be found with treats close at hand. If you didn’t notice any treats around, it was because he often hid them. His children had an unsuccessful job of keeping their Halloween candy from him every year. Some of his favorite sweets were tootsie pop suckers, Hershey candy bars, juneberry and banana cream pies, and, of course, caramel rolls. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughters, Candyce (L. Blaine) Miller, of Crosby, ND, Chari (Jon) Schnaidt, of Colorado Springs, CO; son, James Smith III, of Williston; grandchildren, Tara Miller (Kurt Wharton), of Scottsdale, AZ, Jarret Miller (Kelly Sheaffer), of Conshohocken, PA, Christopher (Ceci) Schnaidt, of Minot, ND; great-grandchildren, Lennan and Ellion Wharton. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Jimmie and Ione Smith; brothers, Larrie (Karen) Smith, Ron Smith; sister, Patsy (Ordean) Opsal.
Red ID: FND_I_78890 Image ID: 518876 Image Notes: FND001 271399

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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