Maurice "Maury" R. Smith, age 75, of Amery, WI died unexpectedly on October 12, 2013. He was born on August 24, 1938 in Fort Snelling, Minnesota to Maurice and Emily (Lamach) Smith. He is a graduate of Sibley High School and attended the University of Minnesota. He married Sandra Soderman in 1959. They raised their three children in Grand Forks, ND, where he worked for a car dealership and later opened several used car businesses for himself. He moved to Amery, Wisconsin and married Cathy Cooper in 2000. He remained in the car business until his retirement. He is survived by his wife, Cathy Cooper-Smith, his three children, Tracy, Laura and Mike; and Cathy's three children, Brian, Jason and Jaime, and ten grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Maurice Leon Smith and Emily Smith, and his two siblings, Mary Spann and Maurice Leon Smith, Jr. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at the Williamson-White Funeral Home, 222 Harriman Ave. N., Amery, WI 54001. A visitation will be held from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home.

Maurice Russell Smith, frequently known as MR, was born on August 24, 1938 at Fort Snelling Station Hospital in Minneapolis, MN to Emily and Maurice Leon Smith. He was the first of their three children. His sister, Mary, was born three years later, and in 1947 Maurice Leon, Jr. was born.
His father was a career Army officer and served a tour in Germany. After the war, the family went over to meet him. Mary stayed with her mother in the women and children's quarters, and Maurice stayed in a separate part of the ship with the men. His father, Maurice Leon, was the Provost Martial at the Nuremberg trials, and Maurice attended the proceedings. His father gave him some of the swords confiscated by the Nazis and these swords remained some of his most prized possessions.
Maurice graduated from Sibley High School and attended the University of Minnesota. He drove a convertible and worked as a groundskeeper at the Mendota Heights golf course. One day while mowing he was run over by his tractor. He broke his jaw and had to have it wired shut. He was limited to mumbling and drinking liquids, and took a lot of ribbing from his friends.
Maury dated Sandra Soderman in high school and they married in 1959. They had three children, Tracy, Laura, and Mike, and raised their family in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Maurice worked for Rydell Chevrolet, and then began Smith Auto Sales, his first used car dealership. The die was cast and he established several other small car lots in his lifetime, the last one being Quality Auto Sales & Lube in Amery. Many people that worked with Maury in the car industry remain his friends today. Everyone knew that Maury was a hard worker. He passed along his hard work ethic to his children and to others around him. His family laughed about how many retirement parties they'd have to give him as numerous times he would retire and then return to work.
On one of his business trips, he set out to buy cars and come home an owner of a racehorse. The horse was named "Not So Easy" and telling his wife wasn't. His children used to joke that the horse was fed first and they were fed second. Maury took many items on trade-in, including a huge diamond ring, a cabin, a white 1969 Camaro convertible pace car used for the Indianapolis 500, a pallet of twenty boat motors, and a thousand dollar bill. Maury was the original Craig's list and was known to take anything on trade.
The family went on regular summer vacations to Boyd Lodge, near Brainerd, MN. He taught his children to fish and to water ski. The families that vacationed at Boyd Lodge returned year after year during that same week. They requested the same cabins, brought the same hours devours to Happy Hour, and relaxed to the same jokes. Maury did not like to have too much of his time scheduled, but did start one tradition. He pulled six skiers behind his boat on the quiet evening waters after the Wednesday potluck supper. It was an hour of set-up for ten minutes of skiing, but the skiers still consider it to be the highlight of the week. Maury enjoyed the water and the outdoors. He went on fishing trips to Alaska and Lake of the Woods. His final trip this past summer was an effort for him, but ultimately a must. He enjoyed blue water fishing and the beaches of Florida. His favorite lunch is a shore lunch, even if it was Bologna instead of fish. He instilled his love for the water in each of his children. Mike owns a boat and has a fishing rod for each day of the week, Laura owns a cabin on the St. Croix River, and Tracy sails and lives on the coast of Florida. They have, in turn, passed it on to their children.
After he and Sandra divorced he married Cathy Cooper and their two families merged. Maury saw an ad in the paper for a little cabin on the Apple River, and he and Cathy began their life in Amery. On weekends it was breakfast and Bloody "Maurys" at the Shoreview, family time, pontoon rides on Pike Lake, fall campfires, and heated cribbage matches. He met up with friends and made new ones at 3:15 p.m. at the Alibi.
When his children were growing up they asked for a dog hundred times and never got one. But old men can change and Rambo became the newest member of the family. When Rambo died Maury swore he would never get another dog because it broke his heart. Lately, conversations on the telephone with his children revolved around his two new dogs and his cats (Truman, Opie, Maude, and Millie).
Maury touched us all with his humor, honesty, and generosity. He taught us that it is never too late to enjoy life and live each day to the fullest. Maury, we will miss you and love you forever.