Cameron Smith

Cameron Todd Smith, born January 13, 1954 in Cherokee, Iowa, went flying to Jesus January 19, 2025. Cam's passions were flying his RV-4, which he built, and his family. He was kind, compassionate, humble, giving, and loveable.

He is survived by his wife Nora, son Don and his wife Ashlei and family, daughter Jenny and her husband Ali, sister Paula and family, brother Dana and his wife Barb and family, mother-in-law Patricia Hollis-Zmuda, and many, many friends whose lives he touched.

In 2023, Cam wrote the following letter to the head of his High School Reunion as a short bio of his life. We feel it reflects his personality, so we are sharing it here:

"Shortly after leaving Aurelia in the early 1970s, I'm still in this area, though not living in the city anymore. In 1978, I went back to school at a technical college in Albuquerque for their machine trades program. After graduating, I worked as a prototype machinist for nearly 35 years in this area. The demand for machinists has always been high here, since there are two major government laboratories in New Mexico. In 2004, I was hired at Sandia National Labs where I worked as a machinist. In 2009, while still at the labs, I transferred to the Synthetic Aperture Radar Division. I stayed with the radar group until retirement. This job was the highlight of my career. I installed radars (that our division built) into aircraft, then flew as a radar operator to test the radars before they were shipped to the customers. I retired from the labs in 2019.

In 1983, I met a young woman that was raising a 3-year-old son. I fell in love with both of them. One thing led to another and well...

Last weekend we celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary. Our daughter was born in 1990. Both children are living in this area and we have two grandchildren from our boy. If I had known how much fun grandkids were, I would have had them first ???

As for hobbies, I enjoy the backcountry of New Mexico and the Southwest. I love fly fishing in a mountain stream. I've enjoyed big game hunting over the years, but am slowing down on that a bit as I age. I learned to fly in 1979 and have flown recreationally ever since. I built an experimental two-seat airplane that I finished in 2008 after 7 years of blood, sweat and tears. I try to fly weekly but the recent fuel prices has slowed that also. Although not a hobby, we have a small acreage and an older house, so there is always something to occupy my time. I have been very blessed. I have a wonderful family, a wife that's a joy to share life with, and I've made many many good friends over the years. I think I am a very lucky man. I thought it would take longer to get this old."

The world is a less sunny place without him. We are holding a Celebration of Cameron's Life event on Saturday, June 7 at 11am at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. Please bring memories to share. Food will be provided as well as access to the museum.