Kendall K. Smith

Kendall Knud Smith, 85, of Sioux City died Friday, June 9, 2017 at Sunrise Retirement Community in Sioux City.

Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 13, 2017, at St. Luke Lutheran Church, 2039 South Saint Aubin St., in Sioux City with Rev. Jay Denne officiating.  Burial will be at the Obert Cemetery, Obert, NE.  Visitation will be 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Monday with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m., at Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel, 6200 Morningside Avenue.

Born to Kermit Sr. and Violet Smith in Obert, Nebraska, Kendall was raised in Obert and graduated from Obert High School. He then married Emmalyn Stolpe Seim and lived in Coleridge, Nebraska and with that union, had four children. He then married Carol Thies Day and lived in Atkinson, Nebraska and with that union, had one child. Kendall and Carol moved to Sioux City in 1998 where he lived out his remaining years.

He started out farming but his passion soon turned to servicing farmers with their seed corn needs. He was instrumental in spearheading the sales efforts in the state of Nebraska for both Trojan Seed Company and did the same thing for Keltgen Seed Company where he officially retired in 1996. He then lent his sales expertise to Allied Genetics until recent years. He loved music and Kendall and Carol loved to go dancing. His greatest joy was being around people and of course talking about corn. In his younger years, he did some boxing and played baseball for many years. In his later years, he enjoyed golfing in Arizona in the winter months. He was an avid Chicago Cubs and Nebraska Cornhuskers fan. He was admired and respected for his warmth and quick wit.

Survivors include beloved wife Carol, with children Jolene Herriage of Peoria, AZ (Floyd), Janelle Stone of Sun City, AZ (Dennis), Julie Baris of Winnetka, CA (Philip), Kory Smith of Norfolk, NE (Marjean), and Kelly Smith of Gretna, NE (Rebecca). Stepchildren include Lori Jansen of Branson, MO (Todd) and Lisa Willhoit of Springfield, MO (Michael). Grandchildren include Jill Thiessen, Jay Stone, Lee Benton, Jamie Smith, Kelsey Shoemaker, Anna Smith, Amanda Stout, Melinda Courter, Wade Jansen, Mallory Jansen, Nicole Skinner and Allison Mendoza, along with 18 great-grandchildren. Also survived by beloved brother Kermit Smith, Jr. of Ft. Dodge, IA (Donna) and nieces Lynnsay Alt and Allyson Thompson. Kendall had many friends, too numerous to count and a beloved cat named Smokey.

Preceded in death by his parents Kermit Sr. and Violet Smith and Grandparents Andrew and Christina Smith, along with many family members and friends and beloved family pets Einstein and Lady.

The family wishes to extend a special thanks to the staff at Sunrise Care Center. In lieu of gifts, Kendall would ask that you buy some seed corn but if not, memorials may be directed to Siouxland Humane Society.