Rodney Eugene Smith, 67, of Olathe, Kansas, passed away on Sunday,
November 6, 2022. He was born on September 9, 1955, in Smith Center,
Kansas, to Harley and Cleora (Bliss) Smith.
Rodney grew up in
Osborne, KS he was on the wrestling team and in band. Rodney enjoyed the
small town life running around with his twin brother Roger and little
brother Rick and working at the town grocery store. The three of them
spent countless hours in the summers at the Osborne City pool. He
graduated from Osborne High School in 1973. His mother and father were
very proud of him, and he was thankful for the loving home and life he
had growing up.
He always knew he wanted to be a Pharmacist and
attended the University of Kansas Pharmacy School graduating in 1978.
His first job as a pharmacist was at Dillon’s Pharmacy in Lawrence on
Massachusetts street.
Work took him to many towns in Kansas as a
Pharmacist. In 1981 he was working at the Dillons Pharmacy in Salina, KS
when he met his soon to be wife, Roxanne, at a Dillon’s picnic. She
worked at another Dillons in Salina, where he came in to ask Roxanne out
for the first time for a ride on his motorcycle.
The two were
married in 1982 in Salina at the Grand Avenue United Methodist Church.
They welcomed their first son, Christopher in 1984 in Lawrence, KS. In
1988, they welcomed their daughter, Abby in Lawrence, KS. They made
Lawrence their home and Rodney opened the Medicine Shoppe on
Massachusetts Street.
Life took them to Hutchinson, KS in 1991
where Rodney owned the Medicine Shoppe on Main Street. They raised their
children in Hutchinson until Abby graduated high school in 2007, when
they made their way back to Lawrence where both Chris and Abby attended
his alma mater Kansas University, which made Rodney so proud. Chris went
on to get his PhD in Chemistry from University of Minnesota and is the
head of a lab in the Kansas City area. Abby went on to become a Dental
Hygienist and has furthered her career in Dental software technology.
Rodney
touched many lives and filled many scripts over the years, and had
heart warming stories about the many people that touched his life in
pharmacy. Rodney worked up until the day he passed as a remote pharmacy
consultant for a non profit, Family Healthcare Center in Kansas City,
KS. His passion became helping the underserved and he was able to give
back by helping to start 340B Pharmacies for the uninsured.
Rodney
was an avid golfer up until he got pancreatic cancer. He has fond
memories golfing with his father Harley, son Chris, brother Roger and
nephews Jared, Ryan and Andrew and his lifelong Salina golf buddies.
Rodney had 2 impressive hole in one’s throughout his golfing career.
Rodney
was a diehard Kansas Jayhawk fan, loved all things basketball and
football at KU. He loved his Chiefs, and grew a love for the Oklahoma
State Cowboys after his daughter Abby married her husband Derek that ran
cross country and track there.
Rodney was so proud of Chris’s wife Linh, becoming a pharmacist in his footsteps at KU.
Rodney followed his dad Harley’s footsteps to become a Mason and was a Master Mason of the Masonic temple in Hutchinson, KS.
Rodney
was a jokester, could never remember the entire joke when he repeated
it, which made his family and friends laugh even harder, he was often
the brunt of jokes and that’s the way he liked it!
Rodney was the
grandpa that got down on the ground with his grandkids and would sit
and play with them for hours. One of Abby and Chris’s fondest memories
as children was Rodney telling them his own version of jack and the
beanstalk as a bedtime story. It always ended in laughter and tears the
way he told it.
Rodney could not wait to be with his mother, Cleora in heaven. He talked about her every day.
Rodney
is survived by his father, Harley Smith of Osborne, KS; loving wife,
Roxanne Smith, children, Chris (Linh & Aiden) Smith; Abby (Derek,
Lucy & Drew) Tate, all of Olathe, KS. Brother, Roger (Neta, Amanda,
Jared, Mark, Graham, Elia, Molly) Smith of Topeka, KS; Brother, Rick
(Dee, Ryan, Holly, Andrew, Nomi, Tanner, Sammy, Heidi, Presley, Violet,
Hadley, Penelope, Archie) Smith of Hays, Leawood, Prairie Village,
Lawrence, KS.
He was preceded in death by his dear mother, Cleora Smith.
A
Memorial Service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, November 12, 2022,
at Assembly of God Church, 115 S Oak St, Osborne, KS 67473.
In
lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Rodney’s
memory be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network of Kansas City,
we have created a team for the Kansas City Purple Stride on April 23rd
2023, donations can be made to the team to benefit the Kansas City
Pancreatic Cancer Network by clicking here.