Hadyn Smith

Hadyn Lowell Smith, 94, of Orem, Utah, died Wednesday, August 8th, 2018, at the Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Utah.

Born November 22, 1923, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Hadyn Layborn and Lula Mae (Beesley) Smith, he was a retired civil servant who worked for the Navy at the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, California, as an electronic engineer. He worked on missile systems including the Sidewinder, HARM, Sidearm, Shrike and other missiles. Hadyn also had other business ventures including a car wash that he designed and built himself.

Hadyn graduated from South High School in Salt Lake City and then attended the University of Utah where he studied electrical engineering. During his last semester he and his class learned that they were about to be drafted during World War II, so Hadyn and his 50 classmates signed up for the Navy. He served as a radar technician aboard the destroyer USS Izard.

After returning home, Hadyn finished his degree and worked summers as an electrician in the coal mine at Kenilworth.  He taught at Carbon Junior College in Price, Utah (now the College of Eastern Utah), during the school year. He met his love, Zola Christensen in the Kenilworth General Store, where she worked, when he went to the store to buy a bar of soap. They were married November 26, 1947, and settled at China Lake, California, after Hadyn found work on the navy base. Hadyn and Zola raised their family in China Lake and Ridgecrest and upon retirement moved to Orem, Utah.

Hadyn will always be remembered by his family as a loving and kind father and grandfather who never failed to send cards to his numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren on each of their birthdays. He was a member of the LDS church and served faithfully in many callings. He loved crosswords, mysteries, tools and gadgets, and always had projects to work on. He was an avid reader and usually read one or more books a day. His mind was sharp right up until the end.

Hadyn is survived by a brother, Darwin Smith, of Sandy, Utah; five children: Lowell Dene (Jennefer) Smith, Wayne Lynn (Ann) Smith, Patrick Eugene (Tami) Smith, Michael Kevin (Mihoko) Smith, and Michele Smith; alpha grandchild Jennifer Lynn Bannick, 14 other grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Zola (Christensen) Smith, a brother, Wayne Smith, and a sister, Shirley Lou Smith.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 18th, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. in the LDS chapel located at 50 South 750 West, Orem, Utah. Prior to the service, a viewing will be held in the chapel from 9:30 am – 10:45 am.  Burial will be in the Provo Cemetery.