~ Biographical Sketch ~

     Rev. Don Emmet (Sr.) Smith was born on Saturday, March 3, 1928 at home in a two bedroom bungalow (the old parsonage), on the south edge of Zwingle, Jackson County, Iowa at 4:30 in the afternoon, son of Emmet Willard Smith and Grace Elda Lenhart. His mother recalls that she was in almost 18 hours in labor. He weighed 8 1/4 pounds, was 21 inches long and had brown hair. He had "cut-out" marks on the back edge of his ears just like his father had. His mother wrote in her memory book that he was a fussy (colic) baby.

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When Don's family lived in and near the small town of Zwingle he attended the Otter Creek school through eighth grade. This was known as the "Humming Bird" country school. Viola Veach was his teacher. He then attended the local Zwingle school for grade nine which was as high as the classes were offered in the small community school.³ Don attended his sophomore year in Maquoketa High School in Maquoketa, Iowa.³ In order to complete his high school education in Dubuque, he lived with Arlene and William Kunzman on the weekdays during his junior and senior school year. Arlene was his cousin on his father's side.³

At age 18, while still in high school, Don received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. The next two years after graduating from high school were spent working on his parent's farm.⁴

Don and Janet Neuendorf first met at a prayer meeting at the Dubuque Bible Church and discovered they were attending the same high school. Don was a senior. Their first date was to a senior class play. They dated for three years.⁴

In 1948 he entered Midwest Bible and Missionary Institute in St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent five of the most precious years of his life studying God's Word.⁴

At age 21, Don married Janet Grace Neuendorf on July 1, 1949 at the ministerial home of Dr. William E. Pietsch in Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa. Janet was 20 years old. She was the daughter of Herman August Neuendorf and Augusta Ottielia Reetz. It was raining very hard that day. Only the families were invited and were in attendance. A wedding dinner was hosted by Janet's widowed mother, Mrs. Augusta Neuendorf, in her home. Don and Janet spent their honeymoon at Wisconsin Dells.^4,5

Don was 22 years old when Janet gave birth to their son Don Emmet (Jr.), on Wednesday, June 7, 1950, in St. Joseph's Hospital, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Their daughter Julie Ann was born on Thursday, January 24, 1952, in St. Joseph's Hospital, in St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri. Don was 23 years old.

Don was 25 years old when Janet gave birth to their daughter Susan Joy, on Wednesday, September 30, 1953, in St. Joseph's Hospital, in St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri.⁶

By the end of his last year in Bible school, Don and Janet were sure the Lord was leading them to be missionaries to the Navajo Indians in New Mexico. By this time they had three small children - the youngest being only nine months old. They arrived at Huerfano, New Mexico on June 5, 1954. Their ministry with Berean Mission was mostly general work, such as home evangelism and camp meetings, children's Bible classes, Navajo language study, Bible teaching, and personal discipleship. Don also assisted in building-construction on the mission complex and was instrumental in construction of the boarding school at Huerfano. Janet taught the womens quilting and Bible study classes, as well as Navajo reading classes.⁴

After 1960 their ministry included reaching Navajo young people through a correspondence program. This led them to move to Flagstaff, Arizona in 1965 at which time they joined the United Indian Mission (UIM International) and began a printing ministry to produce Christian study materials for Native Americans.⁴

Don was 33 years old when Janet gave birth to their daughter Roxie Jean, on Saturday, November 25, 1961, in Farmington, San Juan County, New Mexico.⁶

A treasured shared memory by daughter Susan ~ Uncle Al and Aunt Nona used to travel on vacation from Washington to New Mexico and Arizona to visit with our family.

Dad loved to go camping. We had many joyous adventures during Aunt Nona and Uncle Al's stays. We would all pile into the old 1952 Chevy "Carry-all" with a full menagerie of camping equipment including an old large army canvas tent, wood-framed army cots, kerosene lanterns, a two-burner Coleman camp stove, the black cast iron skillet plus a few pots, and plenty of cooking ingredients from which Mom would prepare all of our meals from scratch. Then, off we would trek to Monument Valley or Canyon De Chelly, or another National Park.⁶

On July 21, 1972, his daughter, Julie, married Charles Marshall Bergeron.⁶

On January 5, 1974, his son, Don, married Rebecca Timmons.⁶

On June 12, 1981, his daughter, Susan, married Lorne Arthur Noyes. Don performed the ceremony.⁶

On June 4, 1982, his daughter, Roxie, married Ernest Benjamin Geeting.⁶

At age 61 Rev. Don Emmet (Sr.) Smith died of prostate cancer on June 23, 1989 in Flagstaff.⁶



His obituary in the Arizona Daily Sun, June 25, 1989, reads as follows:

Rev. Don E. Smith Sr., missionary in New Mexico and literature publication printing minister at U.I.M. International in Flagstaff, died June 23 in his home after a long illness. He was 61.

Funeral services will be Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Calvary Bible Church, 6655 Townsend-Winona Highway. Burial services will follow.

Visitation will be Monday, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Flagstaff Mortuary.

Rev. Smith was born March 3, 1928, in Zwingle, Iowa, the son of Emmet B. [sic] and Grace Elda Lenhart Smith.

Rev. Smith went to the local schools and after graduating from high school, he attended the Midwest Bible and Missionary Institute in St. Louis, Mo.

After graduating from the institute in 1953, Rev. Smith became a missionary among the Navajo Indians in New Mexico.

Rev. Smith moved to Flagstaff with his wife, the former Janet Grace Neuendorf, whom he married on July 1, 1949. He joined the U.I.M. International where he served as literature publication printing minister until his recent illness.

Survivors are his wife, Janet G. Smith, Flagstaff; his mother, Grace E. Smith of Dubuque, Iowa; three daughters, Julie Bergeron, Divide, Colo., Susan Noyes, Flagstaff, Roxie Geeting, Grand Rapids, Mich; a son, the Rev. Don E. Smith Jr., Muskegan, Mich; a sister, Darlene Julson, Dubuque; 12 grandchildren and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Memorials should be sent to the Don Smith Literature Fund at U.I.M. International, P.O. Box 3600, Flagstaff 86003-3600.

Researcher' Note: Don's brother, Galen Smith, of Dubuque, Iowa also survived him but errantly, was not mentioned.⁷

His obituary in the June 25, 1989 Telegraph Harold of Dubuque, Iowa (p. 8B), reads as follows:

The Rev. Don E. Smith Sr.
The Rev. Don E. Smith, 61, of 3213 N. Manor Drive, Flagstaff, Ariz., died at 8:15 a.m. Friday, June 23, 1989, at home after a long illness.

Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Bible Church, Flagstaff. Friends may call Monday evening at the Flagstaff Mortuary, where a wake service will be said.

The Rev. Smith was born on March 3, 1928, in Zwingle, son of Emmet and Grace (Lenhart) Smith. He married Janet Neuendorf on July 1, 1949, in Waterloo; she survives.

He graduated from Senior High School, Dubuque, and from Mid-West Bible College, St. Louis. He served as a missionary to the Navajo Indians for 35 years, working under Bersan[sic] Mission. He served as a printer for the United Indian Mission at Flagstaff for the past 24 years. He also translated Christian literature for other Indian tribes. He was a charter member of Calvary Bible Church, Flagstaff, and served as deacon for many years.

Also surviving are a son, Rev. Don E. Jr. of Muskegon, Mich; three daughters, Mrs. Charles (Julie) Bergeron of Divide, Colo., Mrs. Loren[sic] (Susan) Noyes of Flagstaff, and Mrs. Ernest (Roxie) Geeting of Grand Rapids, Mich; 12 grandchildren; his mother of Dubuque; a brother, Galen of Dubuque; and a sister, Darlene Julson of Dubuque.

Memorials for the Rev. Don E. may be sent to: United Indian Mission, Inc., P.O. Box 3600, Flagstaff, Ariz. 86003.

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Don and Janet Smith's oldest three children
Donnie, Julie, & Susie
Photo taken about 1957 at Huerfano, New Mexico