ELMO F. SMALLEY

WEST PORTTSMOUTH-Elmo F. Smalley, of West Portsmouth, Ohio, died on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at home. He was 88. Elmo was born on Duck Run to Perry and Myrtle Browning Smalley, on June 24, 1927. In 1945 he graduated from Washington Local High School (now Portsmouth West High School), where he was president of the senior class and captain of the basketball team.

After graduation, Elmo joined the US Navy. In 1946 he enrolled at Ohio University Portsmouth Branch and attended school before working for the United States Postal Service from 1946 to 1982, where he had a walking route which included Chillicothe Street and Second Street in downtown Portsmouth.

On February 8, 1947 he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Frances Parry, daughter of A. E. and Margaret Jenkins Parry, and together the had two daughters, Peggy and Jane.

A member of the James Dickey American Legion Post 23, the Masons, the Elks Lodge, the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department, and the Portsmouth Sister City Committee, Elmo served as president of the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the Scioto County School Board, the Joint Vocational School Board, and the Southeastern Ohio School Boards Association. He was a member of the Ohio Letter Carriers executive committee. For 18 years he was a state delegate to National School Boards Association meetings in Washington, D.C.

Elmo also served as president of the Portsmouth West band boosters, raising sufficient funds to ensure that every student could travel for performances at the National Cherry Blossom Festival, with enough money remaining to purchase four tubas. He was a member of Nauvoo United Methodist Church, where for many years he was the head usher.

Elmo's biggest joys in life included being with his family, caring for animals and spending time outdoors. He loved to teach his grandchildren about nature, history and photography. He fondly recalled traveling with Mary to Mexico, England, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. After retiring from the USPS, he worked as a professional film actor and model and enjoyed spending time at his cabin in the woods in Pike County, where he formed and presided over the Lazy S Hunt Club until his death. Many people are proud to own walking sticks made by Elmo from trees growing at the hunt club.

Elmo was a pillar of the community and an exceedingly generous soul.

He will be greatly missed by many.

He is survived by his wife, Mary; his daughters, Peggy Ruggiero and Jane Boyer; his sons-in-law, Dan Ruggiero and Doug Boyer; his five grandchildren, Daniel Ruggiero, Susan Salyer, John Ruggiero, Bill Boyer and Ed Boyer; his five great-grandchildren;; as well as his sisters, Pauline Tracy, Eileen Venturino, Omalee Mathews, Joan Parry, and Carolyn Rayburn; and his brother, Eugene Smalley.

The funeral will be 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, April13, 2016 at F. C. Daehler Mortuary Company with Pastor Peter Shaffer officiating. Burial will be in Scioto Burial Park. Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Daehlers.

In recognition of Elmo's lifelong dedication to animals and education, contributions, in lieu of flowers, can be made to the Scioto Foundation for the benefit of Sierra's Haven, P.O. Box 911, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662 or the UCAN Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 911, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662.