Myrl Smith

Myrl Smith, age 72, of Mora, MN and formerly from Fosston and McIntosh, MN passed away on Wednesday, October 14th at Villa Health Care Center in Mora. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, October 20th at 11:00 AM at Kingo Lutheran Church in Fosston, MN with Rev. John Dalen officiating. Visitation will be held for one hour before the funeral at the church and interment will be at the United Lutheran Cemetery at Berner, rural Gonvick, MN. Carlin-Hoialmen Funeral Home of Fosston is in charge of the arrangements. Sympathy messages may be sent to carlinhoialmen.com.Myrl Lloyd Smith was born February 19, 1937 in Nora Township, rural Bagley, MN to parents Lloyd and Ruth (Oftedahl) Smith. He lived in Eddy Township, rural Bagley where he attended country school until the 7th grade. Myrl worked at home starting farming and logging at the age of 9. He joined the Merchant Marines in 1956 on Lake Superior.Myrl was married to Ilene Petterson from Clearbrook, MN on December 5, 1959. They had two children, Kevin born in 1961 and Karen born in 1970.Myrl worked for 16 years at the Fosston Potato Plant in Fosston, MN until 1975. In 1976, they moved to Cook, MN where in 1981 he built his own home. He worked at the Eveleth Taconite Mine until retirement in 1999, at which time they moved back to the Fosston/McIntosh, MN area where Myrl built a home south of McIntosh.In 2006, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. To be closer to their children, they moved to Hinckley, MN in 2008, and then for the last 3 months have lived in Mora, MN.Myrl loved his family, and enjoyed fishing, working in his shop, hunting, gardening, building things, helping people, and vacationing in Laughlin, NV in the winters.On Wednesday, October 14, 2009 Myrl passed away at Villa Health Care Center in Mora at the age of 72 years.Survivors include his wife, Ilene of Mora; his mother, Ruth Holman of Fosston; one son, Kevin (DeRae) Smith of Hinckley; one daughter, Karen (Bob) Haft of Coon Rapids, MN; five grandchildren, Jenae Smith, Jacob Smith, Ken Smith, James Haft, and Vienna Haft; two great grandchildren, Jason Smith, and Kaylan Smith; two sisters, Cleone Johnson of Fosston, and Darline Novacek of East Grand Forks, MN; and two brothers, Francis (Marilyn) Smith of Bemidji, MN, and Franklin (Sharon) Smith of Monticello, MN.He was preceded in death by his father, Lloyd Smith; two brothers, Clayton Smith, and Laverne Smith; brother-in-law, Larry Johnson; sister-in-law, Phyllis Johnson; and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Alfred and Alice Petterson.