Funeral services for Eugene Smith, age 88, of Bison, SD, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 7, 2018 at the Bentley Memorial Building in Bison, SD.  Pastor Phil Hahn will officiate with burial to follow in the Bison Cemetery.

Eugene "Gene" Stuart Smith was born on March 15, 1930 at  Hettinger, ND, to Sampson and Anna (Larson) Smith.  The family lived in Glendo, SD, where Gene attended country school.  Gene's mother, Anna, was their teacher for 1 year.  In 1945, the family moved to Strool, SD.

On December 1, 1948, Gene was united in marriage to Darlene Stalder in Bison, SD.  They lived for a time on the family farm, then moved to Prairie City, SD.  Gene did many things to make a living, including farming and truck driving.  They moved to   Deadwood in 1962 for a short time, where Gene worked for an auto dealership.  In 1964 they moved to a farm near Bison, SD and later into Bison.

Shortly after returning to the Bison area, Gene and Darlene began working as custodians at the Bison School.  Later they established the Smith Bus Company which they ran for over 50 years.  Gene and Darlene ran busses for the Bison School District and in Harding County, and also hauled mail out of the Prairie City Post Office. They took great pride in having their busses in top running order.  Gene loved buying and selling cars and restoring old tractors.

Following Darlene's death in 1999, Gene continued operating the busses before finally retiring. Gene passed away on  Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, ND.

Grateful for having shared in his life are his daughters and sons-in-law, Linda Hargens, Bellevue, NE, Sandra and Dennis Dietterle, Rapid City, SD, Cheryl and Merle Hulm, Bison, SD, Pamela and Joe Ball, Sturgis, SD, Anna and Todd Buer, Shadehill, SD; sons and daughter-in-law, Michael and Lisa Smith, Garner, NC and Terry Smith, Rapid City, SD; 14 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, Walter Covey, Rapid City, SD; sisters and brother-in-law, Barbara and Wayne Besler and Ramona Brockel, all of Bison, SD; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Gene was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Darlene; two brothers, Don Smith and Clair Smith; sister, Cleo Covey; and one granddaughter, Amanda Jo Ball.

Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the Bentley Building in Bison on Monday morning.