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UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

•	Ralph Forseth 5/21
•	Kenneth Reese 5/23
•	Ruth Anderson (Kahl) 5/28

DODGEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

Class of 1961

Dodgeville, WI

Gary Edwin Smith died on April 27, 2026. He was born February 12, 1943 in Dodgeville, WI, where he was also raised. He was the son of Edwin J. Smith & Melva A. Smith.

Gary was baptized & confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church, Dodgeville.

He graduated from Dodgeville High School in1961. Gary moved to Madison in 1961 and graduated from Madison Area Technical College in 1963.

Gary worked for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue before transferring to the University of Wisconsin Physical Plant Accounting Office where he worked for 36 years, retiring in 1999.

Gary began his long tenure as photographer for the University of Wisconsin Band in the fall of 1980. He continued in that position until his retirement in 2019. During that time, he produced and published imaginative photographs of the band and band personalities in rehearsal, in performance, & in candid moments. For his large body of work, he was awarded the band’s “Spirit of Wisconsin” award. In honor of this award, Trumpet 18, Rank 1 was designated as the ‘Gary Smith Trumpet’.

Gary was also continually involved in providing services for the band ranging from publicity to ticketing to budgeting. He was truly considered to be one of the band’s “best friends”. In 2017 he was appropriately & deservingly inducted into the University of Wisconsin Marching Band “Hall of Fame”.

Gary was preceded in death by his father, Edwin J. Smith, his mother, Melva A. Smith, half-brothers, Virgil Nelson & Lavern Smith, half-sister, Marion Peterson, dear friend Phyllis Leckrone & his beloved dog Rusty.

Gary is survived by his cousins, friends Sandy & Stanley Fosdal, Mika & John Mitmoen & family, Michael Leckrone & family, Rod & Nancy Hagan, Brian & Angie Utter & family, & his University of Wisconsin Band Family, along with his canine companion, Teddy.

A service will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 2:00 pm at Ryan Funeral Home, 220 Enterprise Dr, Verona, WI. A gathering to celebrate Gary’s life will be held June 6, 2026 at 3:00 pm at 5th Quarter in Verona, WI.

A private burial will be at a later date.

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services
Verona Chapel
220 Enterprise Dr
608-845-6625

Events

Memorial Service

Sat Jun 6, 2026 @ 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CDT

Ryan Funeral Home - Verona • 220 Enterprise Dr, Verona, WI 53593

Celebration

Sat Jun 6, 2026 @ 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM CDT

5th Quarter Bar & Grill • 161 Horizon Dr, Verona, WI 53593

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ATTENTION CLASSMATES: As we look to the Dodgeville Class of 1961's 65th Class Reunion in 2026, is your contact information current? If you have moved in the last 5 years, changed or added an email address, send your updates to:

Janet Smith

6725 Hill Ridge Drive

Greendale, WI 53129

jfsmith6725@gmail.com

SAVE THE DATE JULY 22, 2026!!! More details will follow.

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Classmates, this is one of several photos from the October 7, 2025 Fall mini-reunion at the 5th Quarter in Verona. There was so much conversation & laughs among classmates that we forgot to get a group picture. Having the Jewells from Oklahoma here was a real treat. We were also introduced to a new venue for parties at the 5th Quarter as some of you may note in the photo. A good time was had and we missed all who were unable to attend. More photos to be posted on the Past/Mini Reunions page.

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Spring Mini-Reunion - We still love the Dodgeville Red Room after all these 64 years. Our lunch was a special time with special people. Thank you all who attended - love our time together.

More pictures under Past/Mini Reunions

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Super turnout for the DHS Class of '61's Fall Mini-Reunion @ the 5th Quarter in Verona. Some attendees arrived as a suprise and some traveled from quite a distance. What fun it was to catch-up on everyone's lives since we last gathered. All who attended had lots of laughs & walked down memory lane. A big thank you to all who attended!

More pictures under Past/Mini Reunioins

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Class of 1961 & 1962 gathered at the Dodgeville Red Room April 2, 2024 amid a Wisconsin snow storm making travel tricky. Many of our classmates had found the weather impacted their feeling comfortable to make the journey and caused attendees to break up shortly after eating. The time spent together was the best (as usual) if even shorter than planned. Sue (Stratman) White left before the taking of photos. Sorry, Sue.

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October 24, 2023: Fall mini-reunion at the 5th Quarter in Verona brought together classmates and spouses (plus one son) to enjoy catching up on the latest news, enjoy a beverage and have some laughs. Additional photos are available on the Past/Mini Reunions page.

Dodgeville High School Class of 1961 - Spring Mini-Reunion. Wednesday, April 26, at the 5th Quarter Bar & Grill. A super time was had as classmates & significant others reaquanited with each other.

On Tuesday October 27, 12 classmates and their spouses gathered together for a mini-reunion at the 5th Quarter in Verona to chat and catch up on what's new and to remember two of our classmates that passed away recently..

Photo of the 12 classmates from the 1961 class of DHS.

Photo 09-27-22

I would like to THANK all the classmates at our Mini Reunion on May 3rd for passing the hat to keep our class website up and running. As of May 15 we have had 91,826 visitors to our website that was set up on 04/23/2009. Our site is now paid up through 08/31/2027.

Our site will remain live on the FREE OF ADS plan.

AGAIN THANKS TO ALL FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN.

PICTURE FLASHBACK

We enjoy our mini-reunions and it was good to get together again on May 3, 2022 to chat and to catch up on the latest news. We like The Fifth Quarter in Verona as they are always glad to see us and treat us very special. We look forward to getting together again in the Fall, so do plan to come join the fun.

On Saturday, July 24th, 24 classmates and their spouses traveled to Ridgeway and held our 60th Class Reunion. 15 classmates were remembered on the Memorial Table. Hi-:Point treated us well and there were great conversations going on at every table! We thank Dick and Sue Blotz, Jackie and Jim Heuer and Jan Fox Smith for being on the planning committee this year.