Daughter, Judy Norris

Dad was a quiet and generous man—small in stature, but strong in character, always willing to help a neighbor.  He taught me right from wrong and he encouraged me to participate in many activities including riding horses and entering horse shows.  He also engrained in me that having horses is not all just fun but responsibility with grooming and feeding.

Dad was always donating his time and truck for us girl scouts to earn certain badges.  Of course the ones he liked best were the outdoor badges.  I remember him helping us build a float from wire and paper mache.  Of course, dad ended up doing most of the construction.

From a little girl I remember Dad strumming on his guitar and playing his harmonica.  I loved seeing him dressed up in country-western clothes, string tie, cowboy hat, and boots.  Mom and Dad square danced for years and they looked so fancy in their outfits.

Dad built us a home from scratch in the early 1950's and hand dug our own well with pulley and buckets.  Dad never complained about pain.  I remember when he came into the house and asked me to help fix his knees.  He had burned his knees to the bone while building our concrete patio.  We covered his knees with bag balm for cows and wrapped them with clean cloth, and he never complained.  That helped me decide on a nursing career.

Dad loved the solitude and serenity of the high mountains.  He loved driving his jeep on old trails to the high mountains and lakes to hunt and fish.  He was so proud when I caught my first fish.  When my parents moved to Fort Myers, Florida he still loved taking me fishing every time I visited.  I remember our family ice skating on frozen mountain creeks.  I felt so proud when Dad and Mom watched me show off with spins and jumps.  With Dad's encouragement I went on to roller-skating and competition.

Dad loved his van.  Our family had many pleasurable trips in it.  He also loved antique browsing. 

Dad was a jack of all trades.  He made many beautiful things for his family—from dresser drawers, kitchen cabinets, a vanity for his granddaughter to clocks and picture frames for my needlework.  I don't think there was anything made of wood he couldn't make.

In Colorado he collected twisted wood and rocks.   He would cut and polish the rocks to reveal the beautiful insides.  Who would think an old rock could be a gem.

He spent much time with his grandsons when they were little.  He loved to take them camping and fishing and riding in his airplane.  He loved to talk about their times together.  He was very proud of their accomplishments.  He didn't get to spend much time with his granddaughter because we lived in the West Indies when she was young.  But he was with me when she was born and was very happy to have a granddaughter.

When I was young he loved me dearly and I was his little tom-girl who my grandpa called "Squirt".

I could always depend on Dad to be there for me, whether good or bad times.  Dad was my rock to stand on.  He never criticized me.  He gave me the strength I have today.

The greatest gift he gave me was the strength to "Let him go".  Daddy I love you and you will always be in my thoughts and heart.  I will see you at the Cabin in the mountains with fishing pole in hand.  You and I had a special bond and I miss you deeply.

Grandson, Toby Norris

Fond memories fill my mind when I thing of my Grandpa Smysor.  I recall camping and fishing adventures in the Rocky Mountains, rides in his airplane, wonderful boat trips in Florida, and many fun times with him when I was a child.  Grandpa Smysor was a cheerful, friendly, and generous man who knew how to bring a smile to someone's face.  His guidance and example taught me a lot about the value of hard work and self reliance.  He and my Grandmother helped me at many stages in my life with financial and emotional support.  For that I am eternally grateful.  Grandpa Smysor was a very special person and the best Grandfather a person could ever have.  He will be missed by many people that loved him dearly.  Although his physical body has expired, his spirit will live on in the lives of people like me that he touched. 

Grandson, Steve Norris

Grandpa.  Just saying the word brings joy and comfort.  When I remember Grandpa, I am flooded with pleasant memories of humor, the outdoors, and tinkering with anything and everything.

I attribute my love for gardening to Grandpa.  I remember the first time I realized the concept of gardening.  I was five years old and had come back to the States to visit Grandpa and Nan.  The first morning there, Grandpa took me out to his garden to help pick strawberries.  It was like an Easter egg hunt and I think I ate more than I put in the basket.  I can't remember how long I stayed on that visit, but every morning we went out to the garden first thing to search for treasures and treats.

Grandpa was definitely an outdoorsman.  I attribute my love for the outdoors to Grandpa.  I have so many fond memories of fishing and camping with Grandpa as a child.  I know so many people who fear a trip into the woods or exploring a new creek.  The outdoors represents to them only a risk of injury.  Grandpa was completely at ease in the outdoors.  His ease with and respect for nature taught me not to fear the unknown and built within me the confidence to explore it.

Grandpa was also a tinkerer.  Some called him a jack of all trades.  He could fix virtually anything and could always be counted on for repair advice.  He seemed to know something about, or be able to do, just about everything.  I never saw Grandpa give up on a project of something that was broken.  Grandpa's self reliance has provided a valuable model for my own life.  It has given me the drive to learn new things and the confidence to pursue them.

The thing I will remember most fondly about Grandpa is his humor.  I can count on one hand the number of times I saw Grandpa upset.  I can't even begin to count the number of times I saw Grandpa smiling or laughing.   His laugh and good humor always seemed so contagious.  Grandpa represented the essence of good humor and optimism.  I will never forget the sound of Grandpa's laugh and how it could rapidly fill the lives of those around him with joy.

Granddaughter, Debbie Smith

For as long as I can remember, Grandpa was always busy doing something he enjoyed, and it usually ended up being something that everyone else could enjoy too.  All the beautiful things he has made and accomplished over the years with his carpentry skills I will be able to admire and speak fondly of.  If he started something, you knew it was going to get finished.

Grandpa was a trusting and kind, thoughtful person.  He always seemed to have a positive attitude.  If you wanted to help him out with something, even if you didn't do it as well as he could have, he always made you feel like you were being a big help.  If you seemed interested in learning how to be as crafty and precise as he was, he didn't mind explaining it to you as he went along.

One of those "if I would have said or done" thoughts that comes to mind is that if I would have asked more about just how it was that he was able to be so accurate with his measurements, and things like that—maybe my carpentry creations wouldn't turn out as wobbly or lob-sided like they usually do.

I'm not sure what it was that Grandpa enjoyed the most but I do know people enjoyed knowing him.  He always had a story to tell about places he'd been, things he'd done, "days gone by" sort of things.  Being out in his boat to go fishing was something he liked to do.  He looked forward to going to the marina and reminiscing with all the friends he had made there. 

Speaking of his little hand throttle engine boat that he had, I have a vision that I don't think I will ever loose, only because it was something that showed me an example of Grandpa's sense of humor.  One morning, he had planned for us to go out fishing.  But first, we had to go to the marina for bait and his morning coffee.  When we got there, I remember looking at all the pictures of people who had caught all of the huge fish.  I thought "boy, I can't wait to catch something like that!".  But before we even had made it to the marina it had been quite a ride!  The canal was right behind Nanny and Grandpa's house, so we started off just slowly cruising past the houses, looking around.  All I could see up ahead in our pathway were low hanging branches and winding curves.  He know the area well and must have just been waiting to get past the houses because just as soon as we were, he cranked up the engine to warp speed.  I fell backwards from where I was sitting and remember getting back up, looking back at Grandpa, and seeing him just laughing away.  He kept maneuvering us through the canal and at full speed until we got to the marina.  I wasn't sure if we'd make it in one piece, but after looking back and seeing him laughing his way through, I knew he knew what he was doing and it ended up being fun—although I think he enjoyed every minute of seeing my panic-stricken face.  I thought I had a pretty cool Grandpa!

He liked to get a little punchy with an accelerator sometimes, that which I can relate to.  When I was about 14 and getting ready for my learners permit, Nanny and Grandpa both had taken me out for spins in their development which, back then wasn't very developed.  There was about a two mile stretch of road so unless I was a horrible driver, all I had to do was drive a straight line.  Taking into account his trusting nature, he tells me to take it on up a little faster—we were going pretty darn fast for a station wagon and I didn't see him have to wipe the sweat from his brow once!

There were always certain things you could count on—he'd always be up at the crack of dawn—he liked to feed the squirrels and they enjoyed his company and peanuts!  You could also count on him to keep your cutting shears and knives sharp.  If you were in the kitchen, you knew to be careful if you wanted to keep all your fingers.  To this day, I am using a knife he had in the van and its the sharpest one I have ever used.  He also loved his westerns!

For the most part, Grandpa seemed to enjoy the simple things in life, was a good hearted person, a hard worker, and I'm glad to know that I have inherited some of his genes and qualities (strong-willed comes to mind most).

I know he is in a better place now, with no worries, and will be taken good care of up there.

Great Granddaughter, Tawnya Smith

My Papa was a good person to be with.   I remember a couple of things.  One of them was when we were at the dinner table and I would sit with him.  We would play footsie together!!  The second thing was when I would go upstairs I would feel something.  Then I would look down and see all of his change would be in a pile up all the stairs.  The third thing would be I would always go to his and Nana's house.  You could always count on there being some candy there.  He and Grandpa would always make things.  He also made my vanity.  And that's what I remember.

Milo (Mike) Williams

In the early 1950's the Williams family rented a house in North Boulder, which made us neighbors to the Smysor family, George, Ruth, and their daughter, Judy.  We all became wonderful friends.  George as we learned had many talents.

He was a good watch repairman and also a professional mechanic.  He learned to fly an airplane while we were neighbors.  He invited me to go flying with him.  This was a great experience and I really appreciated the spectacular views of the mountains, various towns, and farms.

I am sure he was a professional at his job at Rocky Flats Atomic Plant.  The Smysors owned a beauty shop in Boulder.  There was a small home on their property between our house and theirs, which George called the little shack and that is where he set up his carpenter tools.  He built all of the cabinets, dividers, etc. for the beauty shop.  He would get home from his job and work late evenings and weekends on the stuff for the beauty shop.  I would help him or get in his way.  It was a great experience for me and we had a wonderful time.  After the beauty shop was complete we made several things of wood in his shop such as picture frames and soon we enjoyed so much working together.

The most enjoyable times we had were when George planned a trip to the mountains to fish or jeep the back roads.  Ruth ran the beauty shop on Saturdays so I figured George liked the company.  We had several great trips to the mountains fishing, hunting, and jeeping.  We took Judy and Verlin's boys Steve and Toby with us on several trips, a fun time.  I should close but I have to tell you about one of our fishing trips.

George's parents came to visit every Summer and his father liked to trout fish.  George planned a trip to the mountains fishing with his father.  He stopped at the house and invited me to go along.  I told George I was too busy, but he remarked that we would be back by dark so away we went.  Our trip was to Lost Lake, which is above the Moffat Tunnel above the timberline.  Beautiful up there!  George's father was in his 70's so we had taken it slow climbing in.  We got to the lake and started fishing having fun and catching fish.  About this time a rainstorm moved in, also fog, and it became very cold.  George's father said, "Boys, I am not hiking out of here tonight."  So George said,  "OK.  You keep fishing and I will hike down to the jeep and get what coats and food we have.  I'll be back as soon as I can."  We had a very scary night as we were concerned about George's dad.  Luckily, we had found an old coffee can lid.  So, having a campfire going and no food, we decided to fry some fish on the coffee can lid.  We all three agreed it was probably the best fish we had ever eaten.  Sunday the sun was shining.  So beautiful was the scenery up there!  George's father was OK and we had an enjoyable walk out, with all three of us in good shape.  I do not remember if our families worried about us being gone Saturday night.

One more thing.  In 1964 we moved from Utica Street across from the Smysors to a log home about twelve miles North of Boulder, and in the ten years before the Smysor's moved to Florida in 1974 when we had Winder storms we often had two or more feet of snow.  George had a snow plow and I looked out one morning and low and behold George had come over and was plowing snow off of our driveway.

Such a wonderful friend, such wonderful memories, such wonderful neighbors.

Leon and Marilyn Greever

Our freindship with George began in 1950 when we lived in the Boulder Municipal Trailer Court and George and Ruth were our neighbors.  They had bought some land in the Moore subdivision and were building their home.

Leon helped George dig their well, and they encouraged us to build our home in the same subdivision.  Goerge helped us as we built our home, and we were happy to be neighbors again.

George was a caring person and always ready to help a friend.  We enjoyed many jeep trips, plane rides, camping weekends, square dancing, and playing cards.

Another memory is the day we all ice-skated at a lake above Nederland.  It was a beautiful, happy day, and one we will always remember.

We miss George, but the memories will always be in our hearts.

George and Nancy Florea

Since Smysor, as we called him (since there were two Georges), and our family lived states away, we didn't visit too often.  But when we did he never changed.  He was also a happy-go-lucky person.

We remember the plane ride he took us on in Colorado in his plane.  When they moved to Florida he took us for a ride in his boat.  I'm not too brave when it comes to water or flying.  We all enjoyed both rides.

When he came to Illinois in his van, you would always know in the morning when you got up that he would be on the patio waiting for us to get around.  George and Smysor were friends when they were yound and always enjoyed visiting with each other through the years.  We will miss him.

Sheila and Ernie

Ernie and I both really enjoyed and appreciated George for the 14+ years we knew him.  I don't think there was anything he wouldn't help you do or do for you.  He really liked to tinker with stuff to get it to work again.  Weed whackers, lawn mowers, cars, boat motors, etc.  I have two old clocks that were my Grandmothers.  He cleaned them and got them running for me.  Built lots of clocks for me.  I kdpt two and gave the rest to people for gifts.  Every time I hear the chimes I think of George.

George had a great sense of humor and a laugh we will never forget.  Our coffee hours with the guys and George were the best part of my day around htere.  There was no subject left unturned.  We could really get going on politics and religion.  All in good fun though -- nothing serious.  I always wondered why none of the politicians got into office that we liked.

George's love of Colorado was always very apparent.  The time you spent with him as a child meant so much to him.  The camping, riding, fishing, hunting, etc. remained in his mind always.  I got to know you really well through your Dad.  A lot of times when he was talking to me he was talking to you.  He loved you very much and was so proud of you through the good times and bad.  Thank God you have so many good memories of him.  He will rest in peace in Colorado.

Ila Johnson

My first meeting with George was in the 1st grade.  We both attended Oakland School -- a one room, all 8 grades school.  The school burned down when we were in the 5th grade.  Then they conducted school in a residence until a new building was built.  I moved and attended Macedonia school and didn't see George again for many years.

I remember George and his Dad, Edwin flying back to Illinois from Colorado.  He was a pilot and flew a small plane.  His father was in Boulder helping him build his new home.

When Dean and I traveled we stopped in Colorado to see George and Ruth.  At that time I think Judy and Verlin just had Toby.  George showed us around Boulder.  We had lunch at a nice restaurant then went on.

We saw them again in Florida.  He was a great cook.  Ruth had her beauty shop on the beach and was quite busy and George did the cooking and took care of the house.  He also took us for a ride in the boat out in the Gulf.  He always saw that we had a good time. 

There wasn't much to do when we were growing up so we did a lot of ice skating in the Winter.  We sould skate on the lake the levee from where I lived.  There were a lot of kids, some neighbors and a lot from Dumferline would come down to my house on Sunday and go over to the lake and skate all afternoon.  Also a lot of entertainment was roller skating at Lewiston.

Elizabeth Harker

I have known George since the early 1930's and had so many good times with him and his family.  He always had a smile on his face and a camera in his hand.

When we all lived in Los Angeles, CA we had a lot of happy short trips to the desert, beach, and mountains.  After he moved his family to Colorado, we always stopped by for a couple days on our way to Illinois, enjoyed picnics in the mountains and exploring the area around Boulder.

Ron Borgman

George and I made many footprints together in the "Big Woods" both hunting and fishing.  We also chased rooster pheasants around in Eastern Colorado.

I remember one hunting season we all met in his yard there in North Boulder (1969 I think).  There was about 30 inches of snow on his picnic table and two vehicles got stuck in his yard.  George said this isn't too bad, "We haven't even left town yet, and we have only 230 miles to go before we are in the hunting camp!"

Another time when elk hunting, we had camp all set up.  George and Les Grote went on a scouting trip.  They returned about two hours later with a dent in the right front fender.  I asked George what happened?  He told us that he and Les were chasing a chipmunk through the trees and the chipmunk turned and he didn't, and an aspen tree jumped right in front of the fender!  George was always truthful  about such things!

Viola Moore

We met at his daughter, Judy's, who is my neighbor.  I went there for a favor because I was trying to do a man's job.  George was there for me then and thereafter whenever I needed a helping hand.  What a wonderful person this earthly world has missed.