Wayne Smetanka
Wayne Smetanka
On June 21, 2023, Wayne Smetanka entered into that undiscovered country from whose born no traveler returns. He was born Jan. 26, 1936 in Sugar Creek Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania, often called Rocky Grove. His parents, Andrew and Eleanor, lived there until 1939 when the family moved to Warren, PA.
He was raised a Pennsylvania deer hunter and graduated from Warren High School in 1954. He served in the Army from 1954 until his honorable discharge in 1956. He cut timber and worked for Sylvania Electric for a year before enrolling in a two-year forestry program at Paul Smiths College in northern New York state. He earned a Forestry BS degree, a Master of Forestry degree, and met his future wife at the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse. He and Patricia Lassen were married in 1963.
His 30-year Forest Service career spanned five states. He was a forester in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Vermont. He was a ranger on the Superior National Forest in Minnesota. In 1979, he joined the Custer National Forest in Billings, MT as the fire and timber staff officer.
In 1999, he and Pat returned to Minnesota and built a lake home near Park Rapids where they enjoyed many years together. In 2019, he moved to Dillon, MT to be nearer to his children. He was an avid outdoorsman and hunter, especially for upland birds, and a skilled handloader and caster. He was an accomplished winemaker, brewer, and distiller which he enthusiastically shared with others.
He was a Master Mason having served the Craft for over 50 years, was Master of the Park Rapids MN Shell Lodge 2007-2009, and received the Hiram Award in 2006.
He was preceded in death by his wife in 2009, his brother Paul, and his sister-in-law Gertrude. He is survived by daughters Mary (Mark) D’Aversa and Rachel Smetanka; son Andrew (JoAnna) Smetanka; three grandchildren Asa, Axel, and Iia, and many nieces and nephews. A celebration of life and the spreading of his ashes will be scheduled at a future date.