Loren Smith

Loren Roy Smith, of Ephraim, Utah, passed away on September 26, 2024. After giving it all the consideration it deserved, he ended his brief tenure with cancer. He leaves behind a well-lived life, with plenty of dad jokes, a passion for BYU football, tech gadgets, and history lessons scattered along the way.

Loren was born on July 11, 1954, in a simpler time, to Lenard and Ardyth Smith in Elko, Nevada. He spent his early years gracing Wells and Las Vegas with his presence before the family settled in Caliente, Nevada—where the desert heat was a perfect match for Loren’s luxurious ginger locks. He graduated from Lincoln County High School, where he thoroughly enjoyed playing football. Soon after, he left home to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Colorado Denver Mission in 1973.

In 1975, while studying at Brigham Young University, Loren met the love of his life, Rhonda. Together, they built a home filled with love, laughter, and six kids—Michelle (who beat him to the finish line), Loren II, Sarah, Jared, April, and Angela. Rhonda, naturally, is up for sainthood.

Over the years, Loren dabbled in several careers, including working in the integrated circuits industry, where he helped companies like Intel, AMD, and Digital get their circuits in order. But Loren found his true calling in his last career as a high school history teacher at St. Johns High School in Arizona, where he found joy in torturing his students with dad jokes, nuggets of wisdom, random trivia, and more than a few cheesy history puns. 

After hanging up the chalk in 2020, Loren entered retirement full throttle—playing with electronics, spoiling grandkids, and dominating sudoku, crosswords, and Wordle like a seasoned pro. He also had a standing rivalry with the local newspaper’s puzzle section, which he almost always won.

Loren was predeceased by his mother Ardyth and his daughter Michelle. He is survived by his amazing wife Rhonda, his dad Lenard (who’s still going strong!), his brother Kevin, and sisters Karen, Donette, Cristie, and Gina. He leaves behind his children and their own mini-mes: Loren II (Carolyn) and grandkids Bradley, Jocelyn, Caleb, Seth, and Russell; Sarah; Jared (Hannah); April (Nam) and grandkids Jason and Alex; and Angela (Todd) and grandkids Nora and Nathan.

A memorial service to celebrate Loren’s life and legacy will be held on October 4th, from 11 AM to 1 PM at the cultural hall located at 450 North 200 West, Ephraim. In lieu of flowers, and in the spirit of Loren’s tech-savvy nature, donations can be sent via Venmo to @burninator63 (yes, that's actually real).