Jasper A Smith
August 24, 1936 - March 3, 2009
Obituary
Jasper A. Smith
Jasper Smith passed away on March 3, 2009 at the age of 72 from the effects of Chronic Heart Failure complicated by diabetes. Born in Hobbs, NM of parents Jesse William Smith and Dorothy Rea Smith nee Shaw on August 24, 1936, Jasper was a big, strapping man who entered the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 and traveled the world. During his stay in Rota, Spain, he became fluent in Spanish and fell in love with a pretty Chinese woman who would later become his wife. Jasper and Ying Ling Lynn Chen were married in Gibraltar in 1962 and moved to Seattle where they had a son, Brian in 1963. In Seattle, he worked for Boeing Manufacturing and Lockheed Shipbuilding as a sheet metal worker until the early 1970s at which point the family relocated to the East Coast where Lynn resumed her medical career. After permanently relocating back to Washington in 1976, Jasper sold real estate in Tacoma and served in the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Air Force reserves. He re-entered the ship building industry at the Bremerton Naval Shipyards in 1979 where he worked until his retirement, after 25 years of service to the U.S. Government. Because Jasper had suffered from flat feet, he always empathized with people with foot problems, and after retirement, he started a small business in Port Orchard that created custom arch supports. Jasper was steadfast in his desire to live independently despite suffering from chronic heart failure for over eight years while coping with his longstanding diabetes. However, he still found the time to volunteer at Port Orchard’s Givens Senior Center and took up desktop computer assembly and troubleshooting as a hobby. A loving father to his son Brian, granddaughter Victoria and daughter-in-law Peggy, all of Seattle; he is also survived by his cousin Betty Threatt of Hobbs, nieces Christi Whitsell of Everton, Arkansas, Carla Shaner of Hobbs as well as extended family in Hobbs and Weatherford, Texas. Jasper and his family wish to express their thanks to the medical and support staff at Group Health, Virginia Mason Hospital and Queen Anne Healthcare for their excellent care and support. A memorial service will be held at the Givens Center, 1026 Sidney Ave., Port Orchard on March 22 at 2:00 p.m., with interment of ashes at Washington Memorial Park, SeaTac, Washington.
Jasper and I were childhood friends. Our mothers were friends too. I last saw Jaspet about 6 or 8 years ago here in Hobbs. It is a very plesent memory to remember Jasper. If Lyn wants ti reply I will try and remember things about mine and Jaspers childhoods.
In human love of a memory Harold Brown
Jasper was my friend in school.He was easygoing and a likeable guy..
Just a big bear, a good man.
Coy
Jasper was a good and true friend I miss him a lot.
Jasper always had a smile. He appreciated anything that was done for him. Great Man will be miss at GHC
Jasper was my dearest friend for more than thirty years and I will truly miss him until I suppose, we will meet again and tell all of our old sea stories to each other. I never met a greater man or had a better friend.
LM Rusin