Robert Smith Robert Gordon Smith, 89, of Waverly, died Monday, October 24, 2011, at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community. He was born August 1, 1922, in Minneapolis, son of Adelbert R. and Eva Belle McIntyre Smith. He married Lola Jean Skjei on October 20, 1952, in Mason City. She preceded him in death Mr. Smith graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1940 and served in the US. Coast Guard from 1942-1945. He graduated from Augsburg College with a degree in English, from Washington University in St. Louis in 1953 with a master's degree in English, and from the University of Minnesota with a doctorate in communication arts in 1962. He was a professor at Wartburg College in Waverly from 1955 to 1961 and from 1966 until retiring in 1987. He also taught at the University of Washington, the University of Montana, and the University of Northern Iowa. He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and a professor emeritus at Wartburg. Survived by: two sons, Tim of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and Andy (Janelle) of Waverly; two daughters, Melissa (Vince) Vandehaar of Olathe, Kansas, and Amy (Brad) Schwartz of Decorah, eight grandchildren; a brother, Doug (Dolores) of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota; an adopted sister, Gayle Weber of Minneapolis; and two brothers-in-law, Donald (Avis) Skjei of Williston, North Dakota, and Mark (Jane) Skjei of Fargo, North Dakota. Preceded in death by: a brother-in-law, Roger Skjei. Memorial services: 10 a.m. Friday at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community Good Shepherd Chapel, Waverly. His body has been deeded to the University of Iowa. Memorials: may be directed to either Bartels or Wartburg College. Condolences may be left at www.kaisercorson.com Copyright Waterloo Courier on-line edition; downloaded October 26, 2011.
