Obituary of Thomas George SMITH

March 5, 1942 – Banff, Alberta

November 5, 2020 – Calgary, Alberta

 

Thomas Smith, beloved husband of Terry Smith (nee Hand), of Calgary, AB, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family, after fighting his battle with ALS with courage and grace.

 

Tom was born in Banff, AB, on March 5, 1942. He did well in everything he undertook. Throughout his school years, he managed a chest full of ribbons at all the track meets held between Banff, Canmore and Exshaw schools. In elementary school, he always won at marbles which was a good thing because his older brother, Denis, always lost. For a few years in the early fifties, Tom and Denis had the concession to fish balls from the water on the twelfth hole at the golf course. The boys owned an old five iron, which they bought and shared. Often, they would use the club to play on the course before the first paying golfers in the morning (riding their bikes to retrieve the balls). At the age of ten or eleven, Tom was able to hit the green on the par-three seventeenth hole, a shot of about 200 yards.

 

Tom was a top skier. He was the youngest member of the high school ski team in 1956, and when the team travelled to Jasper he was among the event winners. He did well in slalom and downhill but was strongest in jumping. When Calgary was making their first Olympic bid the old wooden jump on Norquay was removed and the big Olympic Jumps constructed. Top jumpers from around Europe were brought in to try out the new jumps. European jumpers were so impressed with Tom’s style, when they saw Tom jumping the “B” hill they asked that he participate on the day of the big event.

 

In high school, Tom discovered pool and quickly became an outstanding snooker player. This led to some problems because he was too young to legally go to the pool hall. Tom’s mother thought that the time spent in the pool hall was interfering with Tom’s education so she asked the RCMP to speak to the management of the pool hall. This was done and Tom was no longer allowed to play pool during pool hall hours. Unfortunately, because Tom was so good, many pool players still wanted to play against him. The solution was to play into the wee hours of the morning after the hall had closed for the night. This proved to be more of a deterrent to education so it did not take long before Tom was back during regular hours. It has been told that on more than one occasion Miss Gratz, the high school principal, made a trip to the pool hall during the day to collect Tom who was supposed to be in class. All this time in the pool hall did position Tom in good stead for later when he went on to university. In Edmonton, he became one of the top snooker players in Alberta and was able to use his winnings to help support his young family and pay for his education. In high school, Tom also began playing the guitar and singing country songs. “Did you bring your guitar Tom?” was always heard whenever a group of family or friends gathered around the campfire.

 

Tom married Theresa Maureen Hand in 1964. They lived in Calgary and spent their summers as campground hosts in Jasper. In 1965, they packed all of their possessions and baby Jacquie into a VW Bug and moved to Edmonton. Tom attended the University of Calgary in 1963-1964. In 1966, Tom graduated from the University of Alberta where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Upon completion of his degree, he articled in Calgary with McDonald, Curie where he attained his Chartered Accountant (CA) designation. He worked as a CA with Coopers and Lybrand, Rentway and Trimac.

 

Though Tom accomplished many things in his life, his family was the thing he was most proud of.

 

Tom “semi-retired” in 1990, which afforded him time to pursue his interests as a tinkerer and collector. He frequented many Calgary auction sales looking for interesting purchases or good buys which he would sell for a tidy profit (pianos, golf clubs, sporting equipment, musical instruments were some of his favourites). His collection also included canoes and bicycles. The canoes get used for family outings and fishing trips, but these trips often require difficult or exhausting portages. Tom’s ingenuity and parts from a couple of bikes evolved into a handy canoe transporter.

 

Tom enjoyed his recreation time immensely. He fished, golfed, curled and spent time camping with the family. Tom and Terry enjoyed travelling to Alaska, Thailand, Mexico, New Zealand, Bermuda and Cuba. For a few years, they escaped winter in Lompoc, California and made some good friends in the process.

 

Tom and Terry saw potential in the 1926 homestead they purchased near Eckville, and through a labour of love with friends and family built a family escape from the big city. Countless weekends were spent doing what Tom loved best – making something out of nothing, repairing EVERYTHING, hammering nails, pounding posts and teaching his children and grandchildren to do the same. When the work was done he marvelled at the frogs, the grass, the bats, the crows and the cows (often mooing at them), the mushrooms, the deer, the birds and canopy of leaves overhead and, again, taught his children and grandchildren to do the same. Some of the greatest memories were the evening campfire where everyone was welcome and everyone belonged. No one belted out the old country favourites like Grampa on the guitar and Gramma on the spoons! The party would last late into the night and often he was the last to “hit the sack”. Every morning we all gathered around the kitchen table, in the tiny farmhouse to eagerly wait for Grampa’s pancakes which he cooked each morning over the woodstove.

 

He taught kids and grandkids alike to ski, skidoo, ride a motorbike, drive a standard car, change their own tires and oil, swing a golf club, hike and appreciate nature and wildlife. He used to not participate in board games during family gatherings, telling us he didn’t want to play. Instead, he would sit behind us and passionately tell us what to do and how to strategize. The “team” he was on was very lucky and usually won.

 

Tom led our family through life with a sense of adventure, humour and the ability to meet life’s challenges with the confidence that we could do anything if we put our minds to it. He taught us to always tell the truth, take the high road (and the back roads), to work hard, do things right the first time, and that nothing is more important than supporting and loving each other. When things went wrong and life seemed too hard to bear, his hug and a little time sitting with him in silence made the troubles of the world seem manageable and gave you the hope and the strength to pick yourself up by the bootstraps, get back on the horse, and carry on.

 

You are our rock and our resting place

You are our sun, and you’ll rise in our hearts each morning

You are our moon, and will be with us in the darkest nights

We love you more than words can say

 

Tom is survived by his loving wife of fifty-six years, Terry Smith and their four daughters, Jacquie Kesler, Bobbi-Lynne Rushton, Michelle Wells (Terry), and Suzanne Smith; his brother Denis (Joyce), his sisters, Christine and Marias-Anne (Rick). Tom will also be missed by his thirteen grandchildren, Haley and Hannah Kesler; Kyla, Carter, Nate, Jonah, and Jocelyn Rushton; Stephanie, Carley, Evan, Riley, Kiana, and Adam Wells; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Tom was predeceased by his sister Carol Hann and his parents, Helen and Harry Smith.

 

Our family is very sad to have lost our hero, the world has lost a truly wonderful man.

 

Funeral Mass will be celebrated privately on November 13, 2020. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on Tom’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com.

 

In living memory of Thomas Smith, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis and Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.