Daniel Ray Smith

Daniel Ray Smith, 56, passed away unexpectedly and went to meet our Lord for his final reward and peace on Dec. 30, 2018. Survived by mother, Phyllis Smith; siblings, Russell Smith and Michelle (Rod) Davis; nephews, Brandon (Christina) and Reece Davis and their children, Allen, Haydon and Lily; Aunts and Uncles - Kathleen Wilhite (Tennessee), Ed (Gwyn) Prijatel (Colorado), John (Dana) Prijatel (Kansas), Patricia Prijatel (Joe Kucera) (Iowa); Cousins -- Donna Wilhite (Mississippi) Denise Chapman (Mississippi), Matthew Prijatel (California), Patrick Prijatel (Colorado), Alycia Williams (Kansas), Joshua Kucera (Turkey), Ellen Askew (Vermont), Debbie (Rod) Rosacker (Wyoming) and Patrick (Michelle) Bland (Florida). Preceded in death by father, Ray Aldon Smith; and grandparents, Clementine and Edward J. Prijatel. Dan was born to Phyllis J. Prijatel and Ray Aldon Smith on Jan. 21, 1962, in Lamar, Colo. He was a generous, trusting, and outgoing son, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin, and friend, a man whose kindness and love was genuine, deep, and heartfelt. He was a good, good man. He was a talented artist who loved to draw life-like scenes of the southwest— buffalo, wolves, chieftains, and Indian princesses, always in the grandeur of the mountains. He practiced his craft as often as he could and grew not only as an artist, but as an observer of the natural world. He loved his family and enjoyed making green chili or lasagna for them, chatting on the patio with whichever generation of Smith or Prijatel showed up, laughing at others' jokes and sharing his own well-tuned sense of humor. He enjoyed puttering around his house, starting with the structure his grandparents had built, making it his own. He loved his dogs, even if the mail carrier didn't. He preferred the outdoors. and throughout his life, he'd been a skier, a hiker, a biker, golfer, and a baseball player—anything to enjoy the fresh air. Memorial Mass, 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, at St. Mary Church, 307 E. Mesa Ave.