Daniel C. Smith “Dan”, 80, of Weston, Ohio passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 1, 2022, after a long illness. He was the son of Reed and Virginia (Krebs) Smith of Weston, Ohio. Dan had retired from farming in 2013. He was devoted to his farming career and served on the Northwest Ohio Grain Board of Directors for numerous years. He was at his vacation home in Mesa, Arizona at the time of his passing.
Dan was an adventurer and traveled all over the United States and the world in pursuit of the participation sports he loved. He was the starting first baseman for the Westwood High School baseball team which won the Wood County championship in 1959. After his baseball playing days were over, Dan continued playing men’s softball. He played for teams in Weston, Maumee, and Bowling Green, participating in tournaments throughout Northwest Ohio. His batting skills and power eventually earned him a spot on a regional traveling softball team sponsored by The Andersons.
He was also a horseman, and for many years participated in rodeos in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. His primary event was calf roping, which he practiced nightly during the summers in an arena he built on his farm in Weston. Prior to construction of the arena, he was known to rope his younger brother Dennis for practice. Being a true sportsman, he always gave him a running start. The hours of honing his roping skills paid off with many wins in the event, and he proudly displayed numerous belt buckles and other awards he accumulated throughout his rodeo career. He enjoyed watching and encouraging his son and daughter in the Wood County Fair with their 4-H horse showmanship projects and other events.
Dan was an avid outdoor sportsman, and enjoyed hunting pheasants, quail and ruffed grouse with his beloved Brittany Spaniel dogs. His hunting pursuits took him all over Ohio and to Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota and the mountains of Pennsylvania, where he and his wife Sylvia own a cabin. He hunted whitetail deer in Pennsylvania, and the walls of his cabin are adorned with the antlers and head mounts confirming the success of his hunts.
When hunting season was over, his skill with shotguns was often on display at trap and skeet ranges across the U.S. He won many competitive events at various shooting clubs in Ohio; Savannah, GA; Phoenix, AZ; Las Vegas, NV and other destinations. His many wins added to his existing belt buckle collection, and he accumulated a plethora of other awards and cash prizes as a competitive shooter.
Dan’s love of horses and all things cowboy led him to start vacationing in the desert Southwest in the wintertime. He and Sylvia eventually established a vacation home in Mesa, Arizona. During his trips out west Dan continued his competitive trap shooting. Soon he and Sylvia became involved in competitive shuffleboard. As with all his other pursuits, Dan was determined to be a top-level player, and it wasn’t long before he and Sylvia were winning tournaments and establishing themselves as championship shuffleboard competitors at the regional and national level. He was very proud of this sport which they could participate in together. They have competed in numerous Senior Olympic games and have represented the United States in international shuffleboard competitions in England, Germany, Norway, Brazil, Australia and Canada. He was a member of the USA team that won the World Championship held in Germany in 2010. Dan piled up a substantial collection of shuffleboard trophies and awards to go with his already extensive collection of awards from his other competitive endeavors. Dan was proud to have traveled all over the United States and the world as a championship level competitor in numerous sports. He often remarked how fortunate he was to be a farm boy from Northwest Ohio and to have experienced all these fantastic adventures, winning numerous championships.
Dan was a lifelong member of St. Louis Catholic Church in Custar, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his brother Dave (Jean) Smith of Weston, OH. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sylvia (Terrell) Smith; his son, Kyle (Cheryl) Smith of Marietta, GA; daughter Kim (Jeff) Griffith of Weston, OH; two granddaughters, Savannah Smith, Columbus, OH and Sommer Smith, of Marietta, GA and brother Dennis (Debra) of Bowling Green, OH; niece, Dana Smith of Cincinnati, OH and nephew Michael (Heather) Smith of Weston, OH.
The family would like thank Faith Hospice of Arizona for their exceptional care of Dan.
Memorial Contributions in Dan’s honor may be gifted to St. Louis Catholic School, 22776 Defiance Pike, Custar, OH 43511
Visitation for Dan will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 from 4:00 pm until the time of a Rosary service at 7:00 pm in Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home, 1460 W. Wooster Street, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402. A Funeral Mass for Dan will be held on January 12, 2022 at 11:00 am in St. Louis Catholic Church. OH. Those unable to attend the funeral mass can view it live via Hanneman Family Funeral Homes Facebook page. Interment will immediately follow in St. Louis Cemetery, Custar,
Hanneman Funeral Homes is honored to serve Dan’s family and encourage those to share a fond memory or condolence by visiting www.hannemanfuneralhomes.com.
