A Celebration of Life Service for John W. Smith, age 84, of Windom, will be held at Lacanne Family Celebration of Life Center in Windom on Monday, March 30th at 11:00 AM, with a time of visitation and gathering for one hour prior to the service from 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

John Wesley Smith, also known as J.W., was born on May 19, 1941, in Windom, Minnesota to the late Ralph Wesley and Dorothy Mary (Perius) Smith. He was baptized on February 8, 1942, in Windom, and confirmed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Heron Lake in 1964.

On October 12, 1963, John was united in marriage to Ruth Rose Huls in Westbrook, MN. John worked at the Campbell's Soup Company in Worthington before going to work at TORO in Windom until 2006 when he retired after 40 years. After retiring, John continued to live in Windom. He enjoyed fishing, hunting in his early years, woodworking and computer games.

John recently became a resident of the Good Samaritan Society-Sogge Memorial in Windom where he passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at the age of 84 years.

John is survived by his wife, Ruth Smith of Windom; three children and their spouses, Dennis (Renae) Smith of Watertown, SD; Dean (Hope Day) Smith of Watertown; Diana (Todd) Windschitl of Springfield; 6 grandchildren, Brandon (Jena) Smith, Jeremy Smith, Cody Smith, Courtney (Kyle) Haglund, Kaylie Windschitl and Alex Windschitl; two step-grandchildren, Josh and Alex Nelson; 7 great-grandchildren, Leeland, Chance, Kendall, Bridgette, Breckyn, Everytte, Laina; one brother, Donald (Linda) Smith of Braham; sister-in-law, Lorraine Rindfliesch of Minneapolis; and several nieces and nephews.

John is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Robert Smith; daughter-in-law, Brenda Smith.