Marion Albert Smith

September 24, 1929 - May 11, 2024

Centralia, Washington Marion Albert Smith passed away peacefully at Silver Acres on May 11, 2024, surrounded by his six children. Marion was born in Gate, Washington on September 24, 1929. He was the fourth son born to parents Floyd and Agnes Smith. Marion had four brothers - Gilbert, Richard, Floyd, and Eugene. When he was two years old his father was killed in a logging accident and his mother raised the five boys as a single parent with help from her family.

Growing up, Marion and his brothers would fish, hunt and help his mom with the garden and fruit trees in the orchard. He attended Rochester Schools. He played football and graduated from Rochester High School. After high school he attended Centralia College and the University of Washington to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering.

Marion met Maxine Grandorff at a dance at Swede Hall. They were married on March 28, 1953 and lived in Seattle, Washington for a short time while he was attending college. He was drafted into the Army for the Korean war before he could finish his college career and was stationed at Fort Ord, California.

While in the Army, Debbie and Dwee were born in California. Once he was honorably discharged, Marion and Maxine moved back to Rochester, and he began working for the Department of Highways which was later called Washington State Department of Transportation. He retired from WSDOT in 1982 and was very proud of his career there where he was respected and had made a lot of friends. While living in Rochester, Guy and Gary were born. In 1960 Marion began building a new home in the Littlerock community and had the help of many family members and friends. Marion and Maxine would live there for over 60 years together. Roger and Dale were born while in this home.

Marion was always involved in his community. While the kids were little in Rochester he was a volunteer Little League umpire and a Boy Scout leader. Once they moved to the Littlerock area, he was an active member in the community. Marion joined the Littlerock Fire Department as a volunteer and later was the fire chief for 14 years. He was a Littlerock School Board member, Littlerock Fire Commissioner, an organizer, coach and umpire of the Littlerock Tigers, LARCH Mountain Little League President, a member of the Littlerock Methodist Church and also a PTA board member and volunteer. After Marion retired he was involved with the Tumwater Kiwanis program for many years. Marion was a “giving and kind man” to so many.

In 1977 Marion and Maxine decided to put in a big swimming pool for the family to use. It took six weekends with a lot of family help. The pool brought many fun family memories and celebrations from Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to holidays, family reunions and birthday parties.

Marion and Maxine had a very special group of close friends that rode motorcycles, vacationed together and went on camping trips that brought a whole lot of fun and laughter. They were the most fun loving and caring group of friends that stayed together for a long, long time. They would have card parties, holiday celebrations, clam digging and many more memories made together for many years.

Marion was preceded in death by his loving wife, Maxine. They were married for almost 70 years and truly were soulmates. When Maxine passed he missed her tremendously and could not wait to be reunited with her again. Marion was also preceded in death by his father and mother, Floyd and Agnes, his brothers Gilbert, Richard, and Floyd and his grandson Evan. He leaves behind his six children Debbie (Dave), Dwee (Bruce), Guy (Joyce), Gary (Donna), Roger (Carmen) and Dale (Sue), 18 grandkids, 31 Great Grandkids, his brother Eugene (Carolyn) and numerous nieces and nephews. Marion truly loved family and looked forward to family gatherings.

A private interment for Marion will be held on June 7th with a Celebration of Life following at the Thurston County Posse Hall in Littlerock at noon with a service at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Special Olympics or the Littlerock/West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. Do something special and make a difference in your community. We would like to thank the staff at Silver Acres for their kind and loving ways as they became his family in his last months.