Davis Smith

Davis Smith, 78, Bismarck, formerly of Jamestown, passed away on December 8, 2003 at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, Bismarck. Services will be held at 1:30 p.m., in the chapel at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 East Divide Avenue, Bismarck, on December 12, 2003, with the Rev. Dale V. Nabben officiating. Burial will be in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan, with military rites by VFW Post 1326. Visitation will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Eastgate Funeral Service on December 11, 2003 and will continue for one hour prior to the service. Davis Junior Smith was born on September 8, 1925 at Devils Lake to William Davis and Arentina Hoel Smith. He was raised on a farm near Devils Lake. He attended country school and Devils Lake High School. On November 26, 1943, he was drafted into active service in the U.S. Navy during his senior year of high school. He served on the USS LST 1024 in the South Pacific during WWII. He was honorably discharged from the Navy on April 23, 1946. He returned to Devils Lake and received his high school diploma from Devils Lake High School. He attended Lake Region Junior College. After returning from the war, he worked in Devils Lake for Leever's Grocery and in East Grand Forks, MN, as a watchmaker for Waterbury's Jewelry. In 1948, he and his brother, James P. Smith, opened J & D Jewelry Service in Devils Lake. He married Mildred Shimek on July 20, 1949 in Devils Lake. Davis and Mildred, along with James and Nora Smith, owned and operated J & D Jewelry Store until Davis and Mildred moved to Jamestown in 1953 where they opened Smith Jewelry. Davis and Mildred retired from the jewelry business in 1985. They enjoyed traveling south during the winters to New Mexico and Arizona after retirement. Davis loved to golf, bowl, camp, and travel. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church Jamestown, Elks Lodge No. 995 Jamestown, and before retirement a Registered Jeweler with the American Gem Society. Davis is survived by two daughters, Marlene Paul Summers of Bismarck, and Diane Brad Knoll of Madison, WI; two granddaughters, Brigitte and Gabrielle Knoll; one brother, James P. Smith of Sun City, AZ; and one sister, Irene DeBernardi of Sun City, AZ. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred, in 2001, both his parents, two brothers, Henry Smith and Howard Smith, one sister Janis Wesa, and a nephew, Mark Smith.

Davis Smith

September 8, 1925 - December 8, 2003