Rev. Roy Gerald Smith

The Reverend Roy Gerald Smith died on Thursday, September 16, 2021. He was 87 years old.

Roy was born September 10, 1934, to Verdin and Eura Mae Smith at the family dairy farm in Eyota, MN. His younger brother, David Smith (Deb), lives in Palmdale, California. His older brother, Lloyd Smith, is deceased, as is his younger sister, Judy Smith Ogilvie.

Roy attended a one-room school until entering high school. He graduated from Drake University with a BA in Distributive Humanities, then attended Yale University Divinity School on full scholarship, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree.

Roy and his wife, Dorothy (deceased) moved to Boulder, Colorado, after Yale, where he spent ten years at the University of Colorado as a campus minister and teacher.

Roy married Virginia (Ginny) Thayer Hawkins in 1988. In their 33 years together, they traveled widely in the United States, with Dixon, New Mexico, as one of their favorite and frequent destinations.

Roy served in Congregational/United Church of Christ churches in Denver, CO; Sioux City, IA; Billings, MT; Wilmington, DE; and Milford, NH.

Roy is survived by his children Dennis Smith (Maxine Newmark) and Kristen Smith and her sons Nicholas Smith and Marcus Smith as well as his step-children: Will Wooddell (Karry) and their children Natalie and Caroline and Nell Thayer Wooddell Heisner (Craig Mickanin) and her children: Camden and Peyton.

Roy expressed himself with clarity, energy, and, when appropriate, humor in the pulpit, in college classes he taught, and with his friends and family. He focused on important economic justice issues and was active in the 60’s Civil Rights Movement/Voter Registration project in Raleigh, NC, and Hattiesburg, MS, where he was twice arrested and jailed. During the summer of 1967, Roy led an American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) sponsored ­­­­­­­Civil Rights Project for two months in Pasadena, CA, resulting in a lasting and strong friendship with one of the students who later became a minister.

A gathering of family and friends to remember and celebrate Roy’s life will be held on Saturday, October 16, 2021, at one o’clock in the afternoon at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2201 Dexter Street, Denver.

Attendees must be vaccinated, and masks are required.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to:

Safe Harbor Lab Rescue (https://www.safeharborlabrescue.org/) or American Friends Service Committee (https://www.afsc.org/office/denver-co)