Gordon "Gordy" Arthur Smith

Gordon “Gordy” Arthur Smith passed away peacefully in his home on Aug. 25, 2015, while surrounded by family. Gordy was well-known for being an amazing and loving husband, father, grandfather, coach, mentor, and friend. He was 73.
Gordy was born in Omaha, Neb., on March 29, 1942, to Arthur and Pearl Smith. The family settled in Santa Cruz, Calif., where he attended Mission Hill Middle School and Santa Cruz High, excelling in sports — specifically football and baseball. He enjoyed playing softball for the Santa Cruz City League as a standout pitcher for several A-League teams.
He served his country in the U.S. National Guard for six years, two of those years in active duty.
He is preceded in death by his parents and two of his siblings, Alan Smith and Sandy Bennett. His sister, Honey Lou Smith, lives in Bly, Ore.
He married his best friend, Margaret Odgers Lamb, on March 29, 1978. She survives. They moved to Astoria, Ore., where they made their life together. In 2004, they moved to Bly, Ore., but returned to Astoria in 2012 to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Gordy was a jack of all trades and had many hobbies — he loved to tinker around in his garage, working on his pickup, fixing watches and clocks, or making jewelry. His most recent challenge was restoring an old boat with his grandsons.
In the 1990s, Gordy had a band, and he and his friends had jam sessions at his house and even performed a few shows at a local venue. Gordy loved taking his family on camping trips — his RV was his sanctuary, even when it was parked in his own driveway! He had a gift for finding any and all garage sales, making friends wherever he went while trying to strike a deal.
In his free time, Gordy studied up on and performed genealogy reports for friends and family. He loved to spend hours researching the history of his heritage, and was so proud to find he was a descendant of both the Hatfields and the McCoys! He may as well have come from royalty in the eyes of those who knew him, as his heart was huge, and his life was rich from the love of his friends and family.
Gordy is best known in his community for his time working as the local Pepsi-man at Van Dusen Beverages, where he devoted 25 years of his life, as well as for his service as a pitching coach and mentor to the Astoria High School girls’ softball team, and the Astoria Storm traveling ball team.
He was a member of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church for many years. He loved sharing a good joke with anyone who’d listen and was even an Astoria Clown! During his last days with his family, Gordy spent his time laughing with them and making them smile.
Gordy’s family was his top priority at all times, and he loved them with all he had. He is survived by three sons: Troy and his fiancé Fayo, David, and Stephen Smith; and four daughters, Christine Smith Jones, Heather Harris and her husband, Travis, Amanda Lamb, and Misty Gedenberg and her husband, Mike. His extended family includes Gina Koskela, Melody Smith, Tim Severson and several of his children’s closest friends over the years. He was preceded in death by a beloved son-in-law, Matt Hankel.
Gordy’s many grandchildren brought so much happiness and laughter to his life. He will forever be remembered for his goofy, fun-loving, and playful attitude with them, his love of Fultano’s anchovy pizza, as well as for all of his “war stories” and jokes, but mostly for the time he invested in them and the laughter he brought to every room he entered.
They are: Casey McKee and his wife Jamie, Crystal McKee and her children Trisha, Kevin, and Kylie; Latasha Anderson and her husband David, along with their daughters Mya, Ava, and Ema, CaSandra Wall and her husband Derek and daughter Savanna; Kyle Arthur Smith; Nicole Jones and her fiancé Peter Blodgett and her daughter Eliza Hunsinger; Trevor and Kyle Harris, Janika Reynolds and Alex Kaufman and their son Silas Kaufman, Andrew Gutierrez, Jasmine Reynolds, John Jones and his girlfriend Emma Anderson, Johanna and Tristan Hankel; Dakota, Asher, and Gary Severson; Jillian Bailey, and Kayrori Gedenberg.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary, 1165 Franklin Ave., Astoria, OR 97103.