Elmer D. Smith

A funeral for longtime Bonners Ferry resident Elmer D. Smith will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007, at the Spring of the Living Water, Free Methodist Church in Bonners Ferry.

Burial will follow at Grandview Cemetery.

The family asks that memorial gifts be given in Elmer's name to the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, 911 W. 5th Ave., Spokane, Wash., 99204.

Elmer, 84, passed away Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, in Spokane, Wash., following an extended illness.

He was born April 6, 1923, in Kahlotus, Wash., to George W. and Mabel Smith.

Elmer began farming in Bonners Ferry in 1947.

He married the former Audrey Wishart on April 10, 1950, in Walla Walla, Wash. They were married for 55 years.

Elmer and Audrey lived on Pine Island in District One until 1975 and then moved on the highway.

They farmed in District One for 52 years before moving to Spokane to be closer to family.

At the time of his death, Elmer lived with his daughter, Renae Wedlake and her family in Spokane. They cared for Elmer tirelessly and helped give him a positive quality of life in his final years.

Elmer was active in a variety of organizations throughout his life. They included Boundary County and Idaho Farm Bureau, Moyie Shrine Club, Bonners Ferry No. 43 Masonic Lodge, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lions Club and the Republican Party.

Elmer served the Farm Bureau on the local and state levels, and he and Audrey received the Idaho Farm Bureau's President's Award.

Elmer, a "die-hard" Republican, served on the Central Committee in Boundary County. Elmer also was well known for placing political signs all over the county.

Because of his political interests, he developed a collection of over 200 "Republican" elephants. Elmer fulfilled one of his dying wishes when he gave his collection to Boundary County Historical Museum on Sept. 1, 2007.

His second dying wish was to install a 60-foot flagpole on Pine Island in District One. The flagpole accommodates an 8- by 12-foot flag and is spotlighted to insure its visibility at night.

Elmer was a very patriotic man, who wanted to leave a visible reminder to future generations of his pride in America and Bonners Ferry. He also believed in the importance of the American farmer, so it is fitting that this flagpole be on Pine Island, which was the center of his farming operation.

Elmer believed in hard work and helping others. He brought grain from the town of Bonners Ferry to Pine Island on a handmade raft during the flood of 1947 to save others' grain from total loss.

Elmer also plowed endlessly during the winter of 1968 to help keep train lines and roads open. He donated all of his hay to ranchers in South Dakota during a prolonged drought.

The fruits of Elmer's strong work ethic can also be seen in the many accomplishments of his children.

Elmer's grandchildren thoroughly enjoyed his sense of humor and stories he shared of his childhood.

Elmer was preceded in death by his wife; an infant daughter, Lucille Ann; his parents; a brother, Pug Smith; and a sister, Grace Jesse.

Elmer is survived by his children, Denise Toennis and her husband, Terry; Shari Hinman and her husband, Keith; Renae Wedlake and her husband, Bill; Sharlene Gentry and her husband, Fred; Ross Smith and his wife, Patty; and George Smith and his wife, Nancy.

Also surviving are grandchildren Joelle and Gavin Toennis, Rochelle and Melissa Hinman, Riley and Kalli Wedlake, Eric and Andrew Gentry, Jeremy Derhiem, and Mitchell and Timothy Smith; sisters Frances Wright, Margie Ballard, Lilly Figgins, Shari Richmond, LaVonne Reser and Louise Andrews; and numerous nieces and nephews.