Raymond W. Smothers

Raymond W. Smothers, 79, of Colfax, passed away Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, at his home. A funeral service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6 at the Howard Street Christian Church. Burial will take place at Colfax Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5 at Coburn Funeral Home in Colfax. Memorials may be directed to the Colfax Fire Association and condolences may be left for the family at coburnfuneralhomes.com.

The son of James Louis and Esther (Sammon) Smothers, Ray was born Oct. 11, 1941, at Grinnell Community Hospital. He graduated from Millersburg High School. Ray was a salesman at heart having spent many years selling Moorman’s Feed in Jasper, Dallas, Harden and Jefferson counties. He also spent time in construction and trucking. He retired from Cramer Construction in 2006. He then continued to work part-time at Farm Service to keep his connections with the farmers in the area. Ray loved having his family visit and watching all of his grandchildren and then his great-grandchildren grow. If you were looking for Ray in these last years, you would find him watching western on TV or hanging on his front porch with Jan and his cherished neighborhood “porch family” and waving at every car passing by.

Those left to honor his memory his wife, Janice “Jan” Keenan; children, Cindy (Mark) Irvin of Waukee, Connie (Rusty) Smothers Richardson of Waukee, Louis (Julie) Smothers of Waukee, Shawn (Amy) Smothers of Waukee and Megan (Jeff) Tindle of Montezuma; grandchildren, Amber (Edwin) Harris, Christopher (Kaurissa) Irvin, Lance (Taylor Woebbbeking) Irvin, Joshua (Becca) Ellis, Richie Richardson, Ethan Smothers, Austin Smothers, Nathan Smothers, Brooke Smothers, Abby Smothers, Gavin Tindle, Sawyer Tindle and Peyton Tindle; great-grandchildren, Cade Harris, Deven Harris, Breeya Harris, Eleanor Irvin, Jasper Irvin and Paisley Riddle. Also surviving are his siblings, Bill (Charlene) Smothers of Marshalltown, Bud (Carole) Smothers of Grinnell and Ed Smothers of Newton; sisters-in-law, Virginia Smothers of Montezuma, Linda Kaye Smothers of Newton and Pat Smothers of Montezuma; brothers-in-law, Bill (Ruth Ann) Robson of Linden and Joe (Joy) Robson of Colfax; sister-in-law, Caren (Phil) Clevenger of Newton; mother-in-law, Coleen Robson of Ankeny; and many nieces and nephews. Preceding Ray in death were his parents; a son, Lester; brothers, Fred Smothers and James Smothers; niece, Jodie Gallager; nephews, Todd Hess and Wesley Robson; and father-in-law, Wilber Robson.