Rex A. Smiley, 68, of Peru, passed away on Sunday, November 12, 2017 at his residence. He was born on February 9, 1949 in Peru to the late Ivan and Betty (Kennedy) Smiley. Rex graduated from Peru High School in 1968.
Rex was a Master Mechanic on heavy machinery. He retired from his craft in 2011, after nearly 46 years of turning wrenches and doing what he loved. In 1965, at the age of 16, he started working for J.C. O’Conner, later know as McMahon-O’Connor out of Rochester, IN. In, 1969 he was called upon by his country to serve in the United States Army to fight for his country in Vietnam. He served for 1 year and 7 months as a Military Police Officer. Once he returned from Vietnam, he returned to McMahon-O’Connor until 1979 when he joined his father Ivan Rex and his brother Garry Dale, working for Bates and Roger’s Construction Company out of Chicago, IL. After the passing of his parents, he went to work for Crider and Crider in 1987 in Bloomington, IN where he finished out his career as a Master Mechanic.
In his younger days he enjoyed drag racing at the Bunker Hill Drag Strip in his 1970 Cheville and couldn’t wait for the weekends to come to get to the strip. He loved going to the races and was a season ticket holder for the Winston Cup in Michigan for many years. He loved watching races on television, especially NASCAR races. He enjoyed doing puzzles in his spare time, either on his card table in the middle of the living room or on his computer.
He is survived by two children, Jennifer Smiley-Workman of Peru; Jon Smiley (Angie) of Columbus, GA. He is also survived by grandchildren; Tiffany Springer (Shala) and Aiden and Ava Smiley and his best buddy, great-grandson, Kaysin Workman; two sisters, Carol Briner, Debra Wilson (Howard) and one sister in law, Judy Smiley. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a son, Christopher Rex Smiley; his brother, Garry Smiley and a brother in law, Chuck Briner.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 3:30PM on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at Riverview Funeral Home, 421 West Canal St. A Memorial Gathering will then take place after the Celebration of Life until 6PM. The Miami County Honor Guard will conclude the Memorial Gathering. In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial donations be made to the Peru VFW.