Gerald Smith
October 26, 1935 - April 24, 2025
Obituary
Gerald F. “Jerry” Smith, age 89, of Darlington, WI, passed away Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Lafayette Hospital & Clinics in Darlington. He was born October 26, 1935 in Darlington, the son of Benjamin and Phyllis (Ward) Smith. Jerry lived in the Darlington area his entire life and graduated from Darlington High School in 1954. He was united in marriage to Carol Mosley on September 20, 1958 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Darlington. He dedicated all of his working years to farming, where he instilled the concept of hard work and dedication into his children and grandchildren.
Jerry is survived by his wife Carol at home; his children: Deborah (Sheldon) Kranhenbuhl, Steve (LuAnn) Smith, Tom (Stacey) Smith, and Bill (Jamie) Smith all of rural Darlington; his grandchildren: Bryan (Jada) Krahenbuhl, Elisa (Jeffrey) Mathys, Kara (Jacob) Scott, Shawni (Bryan) Dee, Heath (Laura) Smith, Jesse Smith, James Ackley, and Frankie Smith; 14 great-grandchildren; three siblings; Marilyn Siegenthaler, Ruth Ann (Kenny) Peterson, and John Smith; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and one granddaughter: Sadie Smith.
Jerry was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church and a former member of the church council. He was also a former Lamont Township Board Member, and the Lafayette FS Board. Jerry was always exceptionally proud of the work he did on the farm with his sons, more specifically the time he spent chisel plowing, and going to farm sales. He also loved to horseback ride with his children when they were young. He kept himself up to date with current events in the agricultural world by reading farm magazines and papers and visiting every farm implement dealer he could to look at equipment. Even after retirement, Jerry loved to check in on the farm activities, something he did until the very end. If he wasn’t farming, Jerry loved to play 500 with a group of friends for 25 years, and always enjoyed going out to dinner with the card club once a month. He was also an avid Packers, Badgers, Brewers & Redbird fan.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 11:00 A.M. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church (104 E. Harriet St., Darlington) with Fr. Thomas Coyle officiating. Burial will be in Holy Rosary Cemetery. A visitation will be held Monday, April 28, 2025, from 3:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church and on Tuesday from 10:00 A.M. until 10:45 A.M. at the church. The Erickson Funeral Home in Darlington is serving the family. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.ericksonfuneralhome.com.
The family would like to express a heartfelt thank you to LuAnn Donahoe and Sentinal Home Care for their excellent care of Jerry.