Henry “Hank” Smoker, Jr., age 74, passed away Monday, March 22 at his home on Gun Lake.
Hank was born June 16, 1946 in Coldwater, MI Henry and Florence (Borgert) Smoker and graduated from St. Charles Catholic School in 1964.
He proudly served in the US Army 1966-1968. He worked in the vending service field for 31 years at Servomation, Service America, retiring from Canteen in 2000.
Hank leaves behind brothers Chuck (Diana) Smoker of Two Rivers, WI and Jerry (Joan) Smoker of Winter Springs, FL; life-long partner Bobbie Bulthuis; her son and family, Chad and Brandie Bulthuis; grandchildren, Christian Thorpe, Jacob Bulthuis & fiance Nikki, Matthew Bulthuis and Caitlyn Bulthuis; great-grandchildren Emmett and Marlowe.
He was a member of DW Cassard American Legion Post 208 for almost 40 years; Life member of Wayland VFW Auxiliary 7581; Life member of Amvets Post 23; Wyoming Moose Lodge 763 and Allegan FOE 2315. Hank was very active supporting and volunteering for veterans. He enjoyed spending time doing various activities with the grandkids, riding mopeds around the lake with his best friend Bob and fishing from the dock. With time on his hands, he learned how the fix computers and loved to be helpful fixing many “oops” for friends.
He also volunteered 14 years for Wyoming Public Schools, most recently at Gladiola Elementary school where he was known as “Grampa Hank”. He so missed being there this year because of COVID-19 and was looking forward to returning to the workroom and the copy machine as soon as it was safe. Spending winter months in Florida was another thing Hank enjoyed. Seeing friends andenjoying the Florida sun and warmth (rather Michigan’s cold and snow) brought him great joy. “Grampa Hank” will be greatly missed.
He was the fixer-of-cars, he was the driver-of-boats, he was the teller-of-bad-jokes… he was Grampa Hank. He wasn’t a grandfather by blood, he was a grandfather by choice. He took on the title happily, comfortable hosting kids at his house for a long weekend on the lake, swimming, boating, eating Little Debbie snacks, and doing chores around the yard.
He also was one to spoil his grandkids. He might have given other reasons for buying a golf cart, but it was really for rides for kids. Mopeds and other things with motors were another way he spoiled the kids. Hank assembled his own “biker gang” that would drive down the access road as a group, revving their under-50cc motorbikes and having a blast.
Hank also was a mentor for any kind of repair. Fixing things in the house, car repairs, lawnmowers, snowblowers… he had patience to spare when it came to helping you figure out what was wrong and how to fix it. He would often have a belly laugh and a smile usually paired with a slow shake of his head when you had made some boneheaded mistake. The laugh wasn’t mean spirited at all, he could poke fun of a lack of experience while helping you figure out what to do next.
Hank was a role model and inspiration not only to the grandkids he helped shepherd into adulthood, or the grade-schoolers who knew him as “Grampa Hank”, he was a living example of how to engage in life to all who knew him. He was the “strong and silent” type of guy, demonstrating to anyone who paid attention that being kind and generous was its own reward, that neither praise nor tribute was necessary when what you were doing for others makes both the others and yourself happy.
We’ll miss his deep sun-tanned face in the summer and hearing about how “damn cold” it is in the late fall, usually with a “I’m too old for this” comment tacked on the end. We’ll miss hearing him call Caitlyn “Princess” and his complaints about being dragged into Grand Rapids to go shopping. We’ll miss the multiple beers scattered around in can coolees on a Saturday afternoon and the exclamation of “Nobody move! Where’s my beer?!” We’ll miss the stories of his ’57 Chevy and the examples of how NOT to drive. We’ll miss his reminders when “Shark Week” is on Discovery channel or that “Jaws” is on TV. We’ll miss his “that’s the homeowner’s decision” response when asking for advice he didn’t especially want to give. We’ll miss him calling back to Michigan in January to say how cold it is in Florida. We’ll miss the “Ya want a beer?” when we arrive and his hand in the air as a wave and a “See ya later!” when we leave. There are many things we’ll miss without Hank in our lives.
Our lives were made better with Henry “Hank” Smoker in it and for that we will always be grateful. No one expected to be saying goodbye now, not this early. There was so much more to do, to live. More trips to Florida, more summers on the lake… just “more”. Time and life are fleeting though. As Hank often said: “you never know when your time’s up”. Give your significant other a hug and a kiss. Meet a friend for breakfast or lunch and remember the good times. Don’t leave things left unsaid that should be spoken aloud. Call your kids or grandkids and tell them a story of your misspent youth… and how much fun it was. We’ll miss you Hank.
A celebration of life will be held later this spring at American Legion Post 208 in Kentwood, MI, where we can gather together to share memories of Hank. Like and follow Post 208 on Facebook or keep an eye out for an event posted on Facebook by Bobbie.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gladiola Elementary School 3500 Gladiola Ave SW, Wyoming, MI 49519 with a note of “In memory of Hank Smoker” in the memo line or using this link to donate online: https://bit.ly/3tY3Gom
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