Daniel Franklin Smith, of Gaylord, died on March 13, 2022.
He was born in Detroit on May 11, 1947, to Colleen Strong Smith and Philip Ray Smith, Sr. He was three when his family moved from Detroit to Clarkston. He attended Clarkston Community Schools and Ferris State University, but was drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam, where he received a purple heart. After Vietnam, Dan had a brief tour in Berlin, Germany.
Upon Dan’s military discharge, he married Melinda Jane Meranda, of Goodrich, on July 16, 1971. They moved to Ferris State in Big Rapids, where Dan completed his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He and Melinda settled in Charlottesville, Va., where they welcomed their first child, Meranda Suzanne. They then returned Michigan and moved into the house on Cranberry Lake where Dan and his four siblings had grown up.
After almost five years in Clarkston, Dan was promoted as Goodyear’s Northern Michigan Territory rep and in 1984 he and his family moved north to Gaylord.
Their daughter Meranda was followed by Jason Daniel (Bethany), and Katharine (“Katie”) Colleen (Mark) Miller, and seven grandchildren, Nathaniel Wedge, Dylan and Clara Smith and Luke, Gavin, Chase, and Ella Miller.
As a teenager, Dan loved the freedom he felt when riding his Schwinn bicycle, and set his sights on owning a car. He bought two Jaguars, driving one home and towing the second behind it, “for parts.” Dan’s love of classic cars passed down to his children, Jason and Katie. He found a 1973 Camaro in California while visiting family and had it shipped home to Michigan. When he gifted the car to his daughter, Katie, it won her the title of “Best Car” in her senior year of high school.
A devoted husband and father, Dan was an extremely hard worker who never complained, even about his seven-day work weeks. He loved fishing and enjoyed their summer cottage in Johannesburg. He was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Gaylord for 30-plus years and a community volunteer who could be found stocking shelves at the food pantry and driving “shut-ins” to doctor appointments and grocery shopping.
Dan was preceded in death by his parents, his older brothers Perry and Philip Jr., and his nephew Mark Meranda. He is survived by his wife Melinda, his daughter Meranda (son Nathan), his son Jason (Bethany) and children Dylan and Clara, his daughter Katherine “Katie” (Mark Miller) and children Luke, Gavin, Chase, and Ella, his brother David (Joan) of Chico, Calif., his sister Marlene “Cookie” (JB) Smith-Baranzini of Stockton, Calif., his niece Sue Meranda, and nephews Russell and Kenneth Smith and Zachary and Nicholas (Kelly) Baranzini, his great nephew Mack Baranzini, and his Aunt “Peggy” Conger of Milton, Ind.
Dan’s family thanks the wonderful, caring staff at Aspen Ridge Retirement Home, Hospice of Michigan, Chaplain Joe Sereno of Hospice during his final year, and Rev. John Naile for his many visits with Dan. And of course, the close friends who took time to visit him.
A memorial service was held in Gaylord in March at First United Methodist Church. In early August, Dan’s immediate family will hold a celebration of life at the family cottage in Johannesburg.