Kay Darrell (K. D.) Smith passed away peacefully after a long and full life on May 23, 2022.
Kay was born June 26, 1935 in Fish Haven (Bear Lake), Idaho to Rosella Calder Smith and Elmer Hyrum Smith. Kay and his twin brother Kent were a great surprise to the whole town, but a welcome one. He loved growing up in the Bear Lake Valley. Kay attended Utah State University where he graduated with a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering. He met Jacqueline Nielsen at Utah State. They were married on November 26, 1958 in the Logan Utah Temple.
Kay always counted his greatest accomplishments as convincing Jaci to marry him and raising four wonderful children with Jaci: Craig, Kevin, Gwendolyn, and Kenneth.
Kay was a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, and an avid student of church history. He had a powerful testimony of Joseph Smith as the prophet of the restoration and would express gratitude often for his grandparents joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and Jaci loved sharing their faith with others, serving 3 full-time missions in the British Isles, Scotland, and Australia. He regularly served in the church with assignments including Elders Quorum President, YM President, Seventies Quorum President, Stake Missionary, and home teacher. He served others on both sides of the veil by devoting himself to family history (one of his favorite hobbies).
Kay was an excellent Electrical Engineer and an academic. He worked in the electronics industry during some of the most amazing transitions to how we interact with technology. He saw the world go from slide rules and transistors to Wi-Fi and iPhones. He worked as a professor at the Universities of Utah and Idaho, as well as Weber State. His work took him to a wide array of companies including the Stanford Research Institute, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and the Artificial Heart Laboratory at the U of U. Engineering and education were passions of his, and he instilled love for them in all his descendants.
He is survived by his wife, Jaci, his twin brother Kent (Colleen) Smith, his three sons, Craig (Sylfa), Kevin (Lenore) and Kenneth (Traci), 17 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren with another on the way. He was preceded in death by his beloved daughter Gwendolyn (Steve) Walter, his siblings, Odell (Helen) Smith, June (AJ) Powell, and Dean (Delores) Smith.
The funeral services will be held on May 28, 2022 at 11:00 am at 1925 East Gunderson Lane, Holladay, UT 84124. Viewing from 9:00- 10:30am.
Interment at the Logan Cemetery on Friday, June 3, 2022 at 2:00 pm. Flowers should be sent to Affordable Funerals in Murray, 4387 South 500 West Murray, UT (
www.AFCFuneralHome.com
)