Leroy was born in 1941 as the youngest of three sons to (George) Raymond and (Alice) Wilma Smith. Leroy's folks married in 1935 after both had grown up in the area. Leroy attended Springdale School for grades 1-8 and then Corbett High until he graduated. Being an athlete, Leroy excelled in both basketball and football. He was selected to play in the Shriner's All-Star game as a quarterback, then went to Portland State Univ. for a year and played basketball for the school. In 1908 the Columbia Phone Co. was started by the Evans and Ellis families. Leroy's Grandpa Lucas (his mom's father) took the company over but then died in 1945, leaving Leroy's father to take over. In 1957 they went to a dial system. After a year of college, Leroy came home to work for the phone company with his dad. In 1960, Leroy married a local gal named Sharon who was still attending Corbett High School. Sharon finished her education and was one month shy of delivering their first daughter when she graduated! Leroy and Sharon went on to have a total of three children together. In 1973 the Columbia Phone Co. merged with Estacada Phone Co. and became Cascade Utilities. The current phone company building was built in 1974 after moving out of the current Corbett Water Dept. office on the Scenic Hwy. Corbett's phone company is now known as Reliance Connects. Three years after the merger, Leroy decided to sell out of the business and purchase Pounder Oil from Albert Pounder who was looking to retire. After five years, Leroy sold the company to the current owners and moved to Eastern Oregon with new wife, Patti. Being a rancher and then a Fire Chief, who created a new fire department for the area, Leroy and Patti headed back to Corbett after nine years away. Moving to Howard Canyon, Leroy and Patti then built their own home in 1996 near Leroy's son, Jeff. These days Leroy is logging and working at the family's rock quarry in Corbett. He says he never wants to retire. Being past class president at Corbett High, president of Corbett's Pioneer Assoc., Kiwanis, Booster Club and the Oregon Independent Telephone Association, he also kept time for Corbett's basketball and football teams for years on end. Not to mention, serving literally decades as a volunteer firefighter and board member for the Corbett Fire Dept. These days he is happy to let the next generation "take over" where he left off. Is Smith Road named after his family? "No, that is after Howard Smith, no relation." Does his family have a road named after them? "Yes! It is at the end of Brower Road and is named after my grandfather. It is called George H.W. Smith Road!"
