Chester P. Smith

Smith, Chester "Chet" "Pete" "Smitty"

Chester "Chet" P. Smith, 82, of Stevens Point, joined his devoted wife and son in heaven on November 2, 2021.  Chet passed peacefully with his sons at his side holding his hands while under care at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison after a short battle with cancer.

Chet was born on July 24, 1939 in Stevens Point to the late Susan (Golla) and Clarence Smith, 801 Division Street.  After graduating from PJ Jacobs High School in 1957, Chet joined the Marines.  Upon returning from his military service, Chet began his career at Consolidated Papers, working his way up from laborer to Construction Superintendent, retiring in 2000.

On May 29, 1964, Chet married Maxine Lasky and raised three sons in their Stevens Point home:  Jeffrey, Michael, and Kevin.

Chet shared his love of the outdoors with his sons camping, hunting and fishing.  He enjoyed the fellowship of deer camp and Boy Scouting adventures as a Troop leader where he finessed his gift of gab and storytelling.  In later years, you may have seen him late in the evening at a local casino - looking for a machine that was hot, but more so, shooting the bull with the regulars, and giving some tips to those down on their (literal) luck.  Many trips to Devil's Lake, North Dakota merged two of his passions – fishing and casinos.  Chet also enjoyed gardening and cooking and proudly prepared and hosted holiday and birthday dinners, where ham, turkey, doctored up mashed potatoes and secretly seasoned beans were his specialty.  Chet was an avid Packers fan, but more often than not, he would only watch half the game as he found it too stressful to watch and had a hard time sitting still as he was always a man on the move.  Chet had a special place in his heart for the many dogs he had as companions over the years, and recently as dog grandpa.  Daily dog walks kept him active and gave him an excuse to chat up the neighbors on his route.  He was proud grandpa to Nathaniel and Gabriel and cherished the years helping raise and nurture them and attending their sporting events and activities.  He continued his Scouting legacy by providing support and assistance to his son and grandsons' Boy Scout troop, 222 chartered by the Moose Lodge.

Chet is survived by his children Michael and Kevin (Michelle), grandchildren Nathaniel and Gabriel, sister Catherine, and brother James.

He was preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Susan, wife Maxine, son Jeffrey, and sister Shirley.

A remembrance of Chet's life will be held on Monday, November 8, 2021, at the Pisarski Community Funeral Home, 2911 Plover Rd, Plover.  Visitation will be from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm followed by a Funeral Service at 7:00 pm.

Military funeral honors will follow.

Private Family Burial will be at a later date at Guardian Angel Cemetery.

Pisarski Funeral Homes are honored to be serving the family.  For online condolences, please visit www.pisarskifuneralhome.com .

While under care at the Madison VA Hospital, Chet shared his life in interviews as part of the My Life My Story program, where he lost his fight to cancer after 49 days he was there.

The following is Chet's story, in his own words:

I grew up in Stevens Point with three siblings, the best you could ever have.  I had good parents too.  Their names were Clarence and Susan Smith.  If you didn't behave, you got a whack in the head or a boot in the behind.  They were rough, but they didn't hurt you.  A lot of threats, but they didn't come through.  I've been a worker my whole life.  Even as a kid I had jobs.  I would help the neighbors, rake the leaves, and help out on the farms.  I always had to be doing something, even as a little kid.

I joined the Marine Corps in 1957.  A bunch of my high school friends and I were going to do it.  Do you know how many ended up joining?  Only me.  My dad was madder than hell because he really wanted me to go to college.  But I was bull-headed and wanted to work.  I took a written test on welding and passed so they assigned me to welding tanks.

My time in the service was enjoyable.  I got kicked up the ladder to Sergeant real fast while stationed in Okinawa, Japan.  I learned that as long as you behaved, told the truth, and worked hard, things would work out.  I think I had really good people who guided me but they weren't always nice though.  For punishment, the sergeants would throw a blanket over your head and beat you with a bar of soap.  This was called a "Blanket Party".  I told them if they did that to me, I would quit.  It was enough to scare you into staying out of trouble.

I got out before the Vietnam War started.  In the end, my dad wasn't mad at me.  I had a jacket which said "First Marine Division" on it with tanks on the back, which ended up being worn out from him wearing it so much.  I supposed he was proud of me.

Afterwards, I got a job as a welder at Consolidated Paper in Stevens Point.  I fell into it and I did good.  Eventually, I became a laborer and about six years later, I became a carpenter.  I helped build paper machines and buildings.  After that, I was promoted to be superintendent of the construction crew.  I was only 37 years old at the time.  I told them to call me "Smitty" because I thought that was a strong name.  My bosses told me later they had decided I was being groomed to have that job from the beginning because I had a way with people.  They had faith in me and I'm not sure why.  I didn't find out about this until 20 years later.

When I was raising my family, I kept busy, always working.  I was a Boy Scout leader for 25 years and two of my three sons, Kevin and Mike, became Eagle Scouts.  I had to drag them by the ear to do it.  I enjoyed greatly the camaraderie of the adult Scout leaders; we were able to accomplish great things in our troop.  Back then, women weren't allowed in the program, not like today.

We would always go hunting, wilderness camping, and fishing.  Our favorite spots were at Lake Northwind in Ontario, Canada and Chequamegon National Forest in Taylor County.  When we weren't camping, I would keep busy fixing things and building things.  Everyone in the neighborhood knew if they needed to borrow a tool, they could come by my garage.  I used to take this really nice German Pine wood and build picture boxes out of them.  Eventually people started asking for them and I built over 125 of them.  I had a garden too and would can over 250 quarts of tomato sauce a year.  My boys were well-fed, maybe a little too well fed.

After I retired, I lost my first son, Jeffrey.  He was in his early forties.  He was diagnosed with fibrosis of his heart.  While the doctors were working on it, bang, he died all of a sudden.  My other son, Kevin, had two kids and I took care of them three days a week while their parents were working.  Their names were Nathaniel and Gabriel.  I did an excellent job taking care of them and Nathaniel is going to be an Eagle Scout soon.  They were getting a little sour in their early years, but I straightened them out.  It was like raising my own kids all over again.

To fund my grandkid's college education, I participated in the Tomorrow's Scholar program.  I contributed half the money, and the federal government contributed half the money for a total of $85,000 per kid.  To get the money, the kids had to maintain good grades and behavior, and they did.  They applied themselves.  Now they are both planning to attend a local university.  One is eighteen years old and the other is fourteen.  It's a good feeling that I was able to put them through college.

My wife, Maxine, was bed-ridden from emphysema for six years before she passed, and I took care of her.  I told her the cigarettes would take her one day, but she didn't believe it.  I had quit drinking and smoking a long time ago while in the Marines.  People say you can't quit cold turkey, but you can.  Just quit and then that's it.

A month ago, I was diagnosed with cancer.  It all happened so fast.  I went from one doctor to the next until I finally got here.  I lost my whole life in four weeks.  Now my memory is starting to fail.  I can remember what happened decades ago, but not ten minutes ago.  Life is funny like that.  My grandkids are going to college though and I've had a good life.  I've learned so many lessons and I'm thankful for that.

It's all good though.  Through the love and caring of my nurses here, I feel like I have a second family.  The acts of kindness and attention from all the nurses have brought me much happiness and peace.  I can't say enough how appreciative I am of them.  This is, without a doubt, the best care I could have gotten anywhere.  Thank you, nurses, for making me feel a welcome part of your VA family.  You are all extraordinary.