Forrest "Deek" Dion Smith, III, passed away at the age of 55 in beautiful Ouray, Colorado, while dirt biking on September 20th, 2019. He was adventurous and fearless, lived life to the fullest doing what he loved while touching many hearts along the way. He is one of a kind. As a devoted and loving husband and father, he was passionate about the three most important people in his life: His wife Kim, daughter Alex and son Andy.
Forrest was brought into this world on March 9th, 1964, in Santa Monica, California by his parents Forrest Dion Smith, Jr., & Jacklyn Irene Matthess. Forrest grew up with his many wonderful siblings: Kym Chatfield, Shannon Garber, Tracee Chatfield, Stacy Davis & Cindy Riordan He grew up in Laguna Beach, California, until 1977 when he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, attending high school and college. His love for physical activities was seen in his teenage years, where he participated in little league, volleyball, and tennis. At the University of New Mexico, he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. After schooling, he continued his self-education journey through books. Aside from finance education, he read up on the works of influential philanthropists/philosophists, working towards becoming a better version of himself.
After college, he played volleyball at State Beach, Los Angeles. He would continue to compete and eventually played in the world championships in San Diego. Afterward, he adventured off to Australia, Burma, Nepal, and Fiji before he found work in Thailand. He came back to San Diego in 1989 and lived on a friend's boat before moving back into the city. He was very passionate about his travels and came back with many wonderful memories and stories. He had a love for adventure and exploring. He had the innate ability to bring light and humor to any situation and made everyone he met laugh.
Following his travels, he started his career in wealth management for over 27 years, beginning with Merrill Lynch (22 years) and working at UBS for the past 5 years. He was a hard worker and always made it a priority to provide for his family.
Forrest married Kimberly Wold, the love of his life in Corona Del Mar in January 1993. Shortly after their wedding, they moved to Colorado and started a beautiful family thereafter with their daughter Alexandra and son Andrew. Later on, they brought Buddy (yellow lab) into the family, as Forrest's hunting dog and best friend. His hunting passion would continue for the rest of his life, taking him through North Dakota, Missouri, and more. Other outlets included basketball, gardening, drawing, and dirt-bike riding.
Outside of the love for his family, he was emotionally invested in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps children battling critical illnesses build hope and strength while granting their grandest wish. He served on the Board of Directors for many years and was passionate about helping others, always doing his best to bring light to people. His energy was magnetic, helping him in these endeavors.
In addition, he spent time and energy with the Entrepreneur of the Year program through Ernst and Young in recognition of national entrepreneurship.
Forrest's contagious passion for people, love, and life will be missed and cherished by all of us. We have endless love for you. We will never forget you.
Service Information: In honor of Forrest we will celebrate his life at Cherry Hills Community Church on October 25th, 2019, at 10:30 am. Forrest's favorite color is purple. If you would like to, wear purple in celebration of his life.
In memory of Forrest Smith, please consider making a contribution to Make-A-Wish to help grant wishes for children with critical illnesses.
Forrest was emotionally invested in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps children battling critical illnesses build hope and strength while granting their grandest wish. He served on the Board of Directors for many years and was passionate about helping others, always doing his best to bring light to people. His energy was magnetic, helping him in these endeavors.
It's truly amazing what wishes can do... give kids renewed energy and strength, bring families closer together and unite communities.
Wish kids are some of the bravest and sweetest kids you'll ever know. They wish to work in a pickle factory, become a superhero, go snorkeling, give their baseball team new uniforms, and push all the buttons in a tall building's elevator.
Make-A-Wish grants thousands of unique wishes each year. But for every wish granted, another eligible child is waiting for their wish to come true.
Together, we can grant more wishes. Please donate to the fundraising page today in memory of Forrest.
Thank you for your support!
Click here to visit the donation page:
http://site.wish.org/goto/forrestsmith