Lehi and Chantel Smith

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James Lehi Smith, age 56, and Chantel Richards Smith, age 42, of Rangely, Colorado, passed away unexpectedly and were found together at home on June 1, 2016. Lehi was born Feb. 8, 1960, in Peoria, Illinois, to James Frederick and Mary Joanna Merrill Smith. Chantel was born September 27, 1973, in Salt Lake City, to Lee Allen and Jenene Nacarato Richards. Lehi married Joni Muir on December 9, 1995, and they divorced after 14 years of marriage. Lehi and Chantel were married on March 17, 2010, in Grand Junction, Colorado. Lehi worked in the oil field all of his life since graduating from high school. He was very smart and could organize anything. One example of this was his “Lincolnectomy”, where he enlisted the help of various Forest Service entities and people to remove a Lincoln Town Car from a very remote location (how it got there is a mystery) near Paradise Reservoir. Chantel was a homemaker and loved to cook (which worked well for Lehi because he loved to eat!), take care of her many dogs and cats, and be around people and her grandbabies. Together they really enjoyed being in the outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, 4-wheeling, and rock-crawling, an extreme form of off road driving. Their favorite pastime was spending time with their families, and even though it consisted of “yours” and “mine,” was never thought of as anything but “ours.” Lehi and Chantel are survived by their children, Tina (Robert) Baughman, Rangely, CO; James Dean Smith, Montgomery, AL; Sallie (Larry) White, Roosevelt; Jon Edward Smith (Stephanie Troumbley), Vernal; Candace Ray (Shannon) White, Roosevelt; David Weiss, Grand Junction; Chris Weiss (Hannah Graves), St. George; Ashley Justice, and Joey Price, both of Clawson, Utah; 21 grandchildren with one on the way; 1 great-grandchild with one on the way; Lehi’s sisters, Melody Hillegeist, Roosevelt; Jeanette Lamb, Laramie, WY; Chantel’s mother, Jenene Gabrys, Price; her other mother, Annette Allen, Ferron; and brothers, Ryan Richards, Karl and Bob (Lisa) Gabrys, all of Price.
Lehi was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Mary; a brother, Robert Scott Smith. Chantel was preceded in death by her father, Lee; and grandparents, Joseph and Donna Nacarato. A joint graveside service will be held on Thursday, June 9, 2016, at 10 a.m., at the Roosevelt Memorial Park under direction of the Hullinger Mortuary. Condolences may be shared at www.hullingermortuary.com.