October 6, 1942 – March 1, 2022
BOWIE – Lorren Smith, most recently of Bowie, TX, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on March 1, 2022 in Decatur, TX.
The family will announce details for a celebration of Lorren’s life which will be at a later date.
A resident of Bowie, Ft. Pierre, SD and Lake Park, IA, Lorren was the daughter of Glen Bush and Lorraine Bush and was born in Lake Park, IA. Lorren was raised on the family farm near Lake Park along with her sister Jan and brother Shane. She often recounted memories of milking the family cows, working in the corn fields and participating in raising the family’s herd of Hereford cattle. She attended all school grades and graduated from Lake Park High School. Lorren’s classmates knew her by her nickname “Rennie.”
After high school, Lorren had many great experiences and made life-long friends as a young single woman. She attended dental assistant school at the University of Minnesota and also worked as a dental assistant in Sioux Falls, SD. Lorren was an independent, self-supporting single woman of the late 1960s. She was a trail blazer for mid-century working women serving as a role model for her daughters, nieces and granddaughters. She subsequently worked for the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and attended an event where she met her future husband, Don Lee Smith of Ft. Pierre, Sd.
Lorren and Don married on Aug. 8, 1970 in Lake Park, IA and settled in Pierre, near the Smith Family Ranch. In Pierre, they raised Don’s three children, Roxanne, Judy and Lee. Although not her children by birth, Lorren lovingly provided care and support for the children throughout their lives.
Lorren worked at the South Dakota State Capitol for several departments and the State Legislature for a number of years. One of her closest friends, Governor Walter Dale Miller, would walk with Lorren on some afternoons to the nearby Smith Family home so he could have a nap there. Lorren was a trusted confidante during his administration. As the wife of a cattle rancher who worked long hours, Lorren also provided vital support to Don on the home front.
Lorren and Don were deeply committed to their faith and were both founding members of the Community Bible Church of Pierre.
Lorren loved eventually living at the ranch south of Ft. Pierre and enjoyed bird watching, entertaining her grandchildren, and traveling the world with Don and close friends. She also enjoyed accompanying Don in his travels to cutting horse competitions throughout the United States. They made many life-long friends and memories along the way.
Transitioning to retirement, Lorren and Don moved to rural Bowie, where Don continued to pursue his cutting horse interests and Lorren enjoyed the peace of rural life along with occasional travel. She and Don celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August of 2020 along with their children and grandchildren.
Lorren was preceded in death by her father Glen Bush, mother Lorraine Bush and nephew Ryan Bush.
She is survived by her husband, Don Lee Smith; daughters Roxanne Harrison (Christopher), Judy Fisher (Robert) and Don Lee Smith, Jr. Additionally she is survived by her sister Jan (Jim) Wiese and Shane (Bette) Bush. Lorren was blessed with six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews she dearly cherished.
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