Edward Elliott Smith

Edward Smith, 89 of Cedar Falls, formerly of Hudson, died November 2, 2024, at the Martin Suites of the Western Home Communities. Edward Elliott Smith was born at Allen Hospital in Waterloo on Sunday, October 27, 1935 to Elliott Edward and Ercell Marie Nation Smith. The second child and first son, Ed was Beverly's little brother, they were later joined by brothers Harlan and Charles.

Ed and his siblings were raised on the family farm west of Hudson when they grew corn, oats and soybeans and raised white milking shorthorns, Hampshire hogs and sheep. He attended the Hudson School System, was a member of the Boy Scouts and 4-H, the Hudson Future Farmers of America Chapter 97 and played basketball and baseball. During his junior and senior years Ed drove a school bus before and after school. When a sophomore in high school Ed contracted rheumatic fever and had to take that year's classes over, graduating in 1955, but the Hudson Class of 1954 continued to claim him and invited him to this year's 70th reunion.

After graduation he continued working on the farm and bought a Farmall tractor with a power lift to help him with the work. His favorite seasons were spring and summer and his least favorite was winter which meant lots of snow shoveling on top of the chores. Ed also drove a milk route for the Hudson Creamery. His dad eventually rented out the farm ground, but they continued raising shorthorns and sheep. Ed showed a shorthorn named Green Meadow Melba and a bull named Wally at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo. Sports still played a part of Ed's life and he was on the American Legion Baseball Team sponsored by Keith Ford Motor of Hudson.

In June of 1956 Ed met Marlys Jean Siler through a blind date arranged by his classmate Larry Andorf and wife Audrey. Ed and Marlys were engaged in December and married on May 11, 1957 at Linden Methodist Church in Waterloo. They set up their first home at 310 Jefferson St. in Hudson.

Ed had started work at John Deere in early 1957, but was laid off in the spring. He worked at Homeway Construction, learned to weld at Snyder Equipment Co. in Reinbeck and helped out at Ed Bixby Plumbing. In March of 1958 he and Marlys moved to the George Loonan farm where he was a hired man. By August he was able to get back into John Deere, they moved to Waterloo and welcomed their first child, Steven Edward. They bought their first house in January 1959 and had a second child, Delores Jean on Halloween 1961. During that time Ed played softball on a John Deere League.

They missed the small town atmosphere so in late summer of 1965 the family started construction on their forever home in Hudson and were moved in by February 1966. When son Steve joined the Little League Ed was the coach of his Blue Team. Ed continued working at Deere in heat treat, moving up over the years to the gear standards department, became a special investigator of machine capability studies, and then went to the Product Engineering Center as an inspector in 1979.

At the end of 1993 Ed retired after 35 years employment. For a while Ed was helping at the Waverly Horse Sales for his daughter and son-in-law. He continued to keep busy with yard work, his garden and his growing family. Throughout their married life, he and Marlys joined family at nearby campgrounds on the weekends and each summer went to cabins in Minnesota and Wisconsin to fish and enjoy the outdoors. He and Marlys enjoyed a number of trips with family and friends to historic and national monument sites in South Dakota, Colorado, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and entertainment areas around Branson, Missouri and Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1969 Ed was raised a Master Mason at Builders Lodge No. 667, A.F. & A.M., where he served as master in 1990-91 and then joined Coin Lodge No. 394 in Reinbeck. He was most recently a member of Marshall Lodge No. 108. Ed had also belonged to the Two-Cylinder Tractor Club. Making two-cylinder tractors was his first job at John Deere where he was a member of U.A.W. Local No. 838. Ed was a longtime member of the Hudson Planning and Zoning Commission, retiring in 2015.

From 2006 to 2014 he and Marlys participated in a penpal project between Hudson Elementary students and local citizens, writing to several students each school year. His letters included remembrances of his childhood and little insights into his life. Ed had freckles as a young boy, a coonhound named Queen, his favorite subject was math, he liked sledding and ice skating, chocolate chip cookies and Snickers and country music. His family went to his Grandma Smith's house in Hudson on Christmas Eve and shared Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Nation's family in Traer on the Sunday after Christmas.

His presence will be missed dearly by his beloved wife Marlys, son Steven and daughter-in-law Linda Smith of Marshalltown; son-in-law Ronald Dean of Waverly; grandchildren Ashley and Frederico Silva of Doha, Qatar; Lindsey and Jared Callahan of Marshalltown; William Dean and Robert Dean of Waverly; great-grandsons Isaac and Cameron Callahan; brother Harlan and sister-in-law Mary Smith of Hudson and many nieces and nephews.

In death Ed is rejoined with his daughter Delores Dean; his parents Elliott and Ercell, his sister Beverly Hesse and brother-in-law Siegfried Hesse and his brother Charles Smith.

Visitation: 9:30 to 10:30am, Saturday, November 9, at United Methodist Church of Hudson with a Masonic service at 10:30, led by the Reinbeck Coin Lodge No. 394.

Funeral Services will start at 11:00am at the church followed by burial in the Hudson Cemetery, Hudson.

Memorials may be directed to the Hudson High School FFA and United Methodist Church of Hudson

Condolences may be left at www.LockeFuneralServices.com. Locke on 4th is in charge of arrangements.