Leo Lane Smith was born in Boise City, Oklahoma, in the heart of the dust bowl and the depths of the Great Depression. Leo's mother and father, Edna Elizabeth (Maden) and Floyd Edgar Smith and his uncle Truman Smith all moved to Chama, New Mexico in 1936.
As so many farmers and ranchers were forced to do, they left their land that was ravaged by the Dust Bowl years and moved to find work and new lives. It was some of the worst hard times in America. Leo well remembered how bad things were and the hardships that his family endured and finding a new start in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
What a difference from the blown-out panhandle of Oklahoma to the mountains and beauty of the Chama area. The work was still hard. While their father, Floyd, operated the Sargent Dairy, Leo and his brother milked cows morning and evening and delivered milk to people in the area. Leo was the oldest brother, followed by Dean, Perry, and Wayne.
Leo continued to work all through his youth and attended school in Chama, graduating in 1950 in the top two of his graduating class. There were two graduates that year and he never said if he was Valedictorian or not.
In 1952, Leo joined the US Navy during the Korean War and served until 1956 with an Honorable Discharge. Leo married the love of his life Arta Knighton, in 1953 and she moved to San Diego where Leo was stationed with the Navy.
After his discharge in from the Navy in 1956, Leo and Arta returned to Chama and Leo went to work for the New Mexico Game & Fish Department. Leo made many long and lasting friendships while serving as Game Warden in Chama. His ability, integrity and personal credibility caught the eye of Grady Vaughn Sr., the owner of Chama Land and Cattle Company.
In 1959, Leo was hired by Mr. Vaughn as the General Manager of Chama Land and Cattle Company, a position he served in for the next 32 years. Leo worked closely with Mr. Vaughn to plan, develop, and implement improvements and a vision for the ranch. Leo was visionary in his management and leadership for the ranch and the Vaughn ownership. When Leo started with Chama Land, it had the acreage and the beauty but needed lots of improvement and sophisticated management. Leo provided that. As the ranch wildlife and hunting operations grew and flourished into an internationally acclaimed operation, Leo and Arta became the face and a major reason for the success because of their management, hospitality, and personal commitment to excellence.
After retiring in 1990, Leo and Arta stayed in Chama, the community they loved and grew up in until 2005, when they built a beautiful home in Edgewood. Eventually, after Arta died, Leo sold that home and moved to live with Kelly and Doug at their place NE of Stanley.
Leo loved the ranch, his community, and the state, but more than anything, he and Arta loved their family and friends.
Leo was a bank director many years for First National Bank of Rio Arriba, a Sunwest Bank; a State Fair Commissioner for 18 years, serving through three Governors; he served locally as a Board Member for the Dunham Clinic, he was an active member of New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, and a Director and member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Leo is survived by his and Arta's children: Karlyn Bates of Edgewood; Kerry (Bud) Smith of Ruidoso Downs; Kelly Smith and husband, Doug Foster, of Stanley; Kristi Bonnell and husband, Joel, of Glencoe; and grandchildren: Kaylyn, Harley, and Shawn.
Leo requested he and Arta be inurned together at Fort Stanton State Veterans Cemetery.
As so many farmers and ranchers were forced to do, they left their land that was ravaged by the Dust Bowl years and moved to find work and new lives. It was some of the worst hard times in America. Leo well remembered how bad things were and the hardships that his family endured and finding a new start in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
What a difference from the blown-out panhandle of Oklahoma to the mountains and beauty of the Chama area. The work was still hard. While their father, Floyd, operated the Sargent Dairy, Leo and his brother milked cows morning and evening and delivered milk to people in the area. Leo was the oldest brother, followed by Dean, Perry, and Wayne.
Leo continued to work all through his youth and attended school in Chama, graduating in 1950 in the top two of his graduating class. There were two graduates that year and he never said if he was Valedictorian or not.
In 1952, Leo joined the US Navy during the Korean War and served until 1956 with an Honorable Discharge. Leo married the love of his life Arta Knighton, in 1953 and she moved to San Diego where Leo was stationed with the Navy.
After his discharge in from the Navy in 1956, Leo and Arta returned to Chama and Leo went to work for the New Mexico Game & Fish Department. Leo made many long and lasting friendships while serving as Game Warden in Chama. His ability, integrity and personal credibility caught the eye of Grady Vaughn Sr., the owner of Chama Land and Cattle Company.
In 1959, Leo was hired by Mr. Vaughn as the General Manager of Chama Land and Cattle Company, a position he served in for the next 32 years. Leo worked closely with Mr. Vaughn to plan, develop, and implement improvements and a vision for the ranch. Leo was visionary in his management and leadership for the ranch and the Vaughn ownership. When Leo started with Chama Land, it had the acreage and the beauty but needed lots of improvement and sophisticated management. Leo provided that. As the ranch wildlife and hunting operations grew and flourished into an internationally acclaimed operation, Leo and Arta became the face and a major reason for the success because of their management, hospitality, and personal commitment to excellence.
After retiring in 1990, Leo and Arta stayed in Chama, the community they loved and grew up in until 2005, when they built a beautiful home in Edgewood. Eventually, after Arta died, Leo sold that home and moved to live with Kelly and Doug at their place NE of Stanley.
Leo loved the ranch, his community, and the state, but more than anything, he and Arta loved their family and friends.
Leo was a bank director many years for First National Bank of Rio Arriba, a Sunwest Bank; a State Fair Commissioner for 18 years, serving through three Governors; he served locally as a Board Member for the Dunham Clinic, he was an active member of New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, and a Director and member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Leo is survived by his and Arta's children: Karlyn Bates of Edgewood; Kerry (Bud) Smith of Ruidoso Downs; Kelly Smith and husband, Doug Foster, of Stanley; Kristi Bonnell and husband, Joel, of Glencoe; and grandchildren: Kaylyn, Harley, and Shawn.
Leo requested he and Arta be inurned together at Fort Stanton State Veterans Cemetery.
Leo Lane Smith was born in Boise City, Oklahoma, in the heart of the dust bowl and the depths of the Great Depression. Leo's mother and father, Edna Elizabeth (Maden) and Floyd Edgar Smith and his uncle Truman Smith all moved to Chama, New Mexico in 1936.
As so many farmers and ranchers were forced to do, they left their land that was ravaged by the Dust Bowl years and moved to find work and new lives. It was some of the worst hard times in America. Leo well remembered how bad things were and the hardships that his family endured and finding a new start in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
What a difference from the blown-out panhandle of Oklahoma to the mountains and beauty of the Chama area. The work was still hard. While their father, Floyd, operated the Sargent Dairy, Leo and his brother milked cows morning and evening and delivered milk to people in the area. Leo was the oldest brother, followed by Dean, Perry, and Wayne.
Leo continued to work all through his youth and attended school in Chama, graduating in 1950 in the top two of his graduating class. There were two graduates that year and he never said if he was Valedictorian or not.
In 1952, Leo joined the US Navy during the Korean War and served until 1956 with an Honorable Discharge. Leo married the love of his life Arta Knighton, in 1953 and she moved to San Diego where Leo was stationed with the Navy.
After his discharge in from the Navy in 1956, Leo and Arta returned to Chama and Leo went to work for the New Mexico Game & Fish Department. Leo made many long and lasting friendships while serving as Game Warden in Chama. His ability, integrity and personal credibility caught the eye of Grady Vaughn Sr., the owner of Chama Land and Cattle Company.
In 1959, Leo was hired by Mr. Vaughn as the General Manager of Chama Land and Cattle Company, a position he served in for the next 32 years. Leo worked closely with Mr. Vaughn to plan, develop, and implement improvements and a vision for the ranch. Leo was visionary in his management and leadership for the ranch and the Vaughn ownership. When Leo started with Chama Land, it had the acreage and the beauty but needed lots of improvement and sophisticated management. Leo provided that. As the ranch wildlife and hunting operations grew and flourished into an internationally acclaimed operation, Leo and Arta became the face and a major reason for the success because of their management, hospitality, and personal commitment to excellence.
After retiring in 1990, Leo and Arta stayed in Chama, the community they loved and grew up in until 2005, when they built a beautiful home in Edgewood. Eventually, after Arta died, Leo sold that home and moved to live with Kelly and Doug at their place NE of Stanley.
Leo loved the ranch, his community, and the state, but more than anything, he and Arta loved their family and friends.
Leo was a bank director many years for First National Bank of Rio Arriba, a Sunwest Bank; a State Fair Commissioner for 18 years, serving through three Governors; he served locally as a Board Member for the Dunham Clinic, he was an active member of New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, and a Director and member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Leo is survived by his and Arta's children: Karlyn Bates of Edgewood; Kerry (Bud) Smith of Ruidoso Downs; Kelly Smith and husband, Doug Foster, of Stanley; Kristi Bonnell and husband, Joel, of Glencoe; and grandchildren: Kaylyn, Harley, and Shawn.
Leo requested he and Arta be inurned together at Fort Stanton State Veterans Cemetery.
As so many farmers and ranchers were forced to do, they left their land that was ravaged by the Dust Bowl years and moved to find work and new lives. It was some of the worst hard times in America. Leo well remembered how bad things were and the hardships that his family endured and finding a new start in the mountains of northern New Mexico.
What a difference from the blown-out panhandle of Oklahoma to the mountains and beauty of the Chama area. The work was still hard. While their father, Floyd, operated the Sargent Dairy, Leo and his brother milked cows morning and evening and delivered milk to people in the area. Leo was the oldest brother, followed by Dean, Perry, and Wayne.
Leo continued to work all through his youth and attended school in Chama, graduating in 1950 in the top two of his graduating class. There were two graduates that year and he never said if he was Valedictorian or not.
In 1952, Leo joined the US Navy during the Korean War and served until 1956 with an Honorable Discharge. Leo married the love of his life Arta Knighton, in 1953 and she moved to San Diego where Leo was stationed with the Navy.
After his discharge in from the Navy in 1956, Leo and Arta returned to Chama and Leo went to work for the New Mexico Game & Fish Department. Leo made many long and lasting friendships while serving as Game Warden in Chama. His ability, integrity and personal credibility caught the eye of Grady Vaughn Sr., the owner of Chama Land and Cattle Company.
In 1959, Leo was hired by Mr. Vaughn as the General Manager of Chama Land and Cattle Company, a position he served in for the next 32 years. Leo worked closely with Mr. Vaughn to plan, develop, and implement improvements and a vision for the ranch. Leo was visionary in his management and leadership for the ranch and the Vaughn ownership. When Leo started with Chama Land, it had the acreage and the beauty but needed lots of improvement and sophisticated management. Leo provided that. As the ranch wildlife and hunting operations grew and flourished into an internationally acclaimed operation, Leo and Arta became the face and a major reason for the success because of their management, hospitality, and personal commitment to excellence.
After retiring in 1990, Leo and Arta stayed in Chama, the community they loved and grew up in until 2005, when they built a beautiful home in Edgewood. Eventually, after Arta died, Leo sold that home and moved to live with Kelly and Doug at their place NE of Stanley.
Leo loved the ranch, his community, and the state, but more than anything, he and Arta loved their family and friends.
Leo was a bank director many years for First National Bank of Rio Arriba, a Sunwest Bank; a State Fair Commissioner for 18 years, serving through three Governors; he served locally as a Board Member for the Dunham Clinic, he was an active member of New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, and a Director and member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Leo is survived by his and Arta's children: Karlyn Bates of Edgewood; Kerry (Bud) Smith of Ruidoso Downs; Kelly Smith and husband, Doug Foster, of Stanley; Kristi Bonnell and husband, Joel, of Glencoe; and grandchildren: Kaylyn, Harley, and Shawn.
Leo requested he and Arta be inurned together at Fort Stanton State Veterans Cemetery.
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