Kenneth Bruce Smilie (1945-2022) 
Ken was born in the immediate wake of World War II at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, Colorado on September 8, 1945. He was the son of an army officer, Charles R. Smilie of Merino and Fort Collins, and a native of Mesa County and Grand Junction. Ken attended Ottawa University in Kansas and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Era. Though not in combat, he put in duty mostly overseas in Germany as a chaplain’s assistant.
After the military he had numerous occupations in the are including ranch hand, various construction-related jobs, and driving school bus in Plateau Valley, including driving to away games for sports teams. For many years he worked at the Collbran Job Corps as the commissary manager, both selling to the resident trainees and stocking the goods for the store. He was a member of the congregation at the Molina Baptist Church.
Father: Charles Robert Smilie Brother: David Keith SmilieBrother: Michael Steven Smilie
