Jeffrey S. Smith

Jeffrey Scott Smith, 59, of Benton, Wisconsin, passed away on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at home due to complications from diabetes.

Friends and family may visit from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2025, at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road.

He was born on November 25, 1965, to John Sr. and Janice (Burlage) Smith in Norfolk, VA. Jeff was a graduate of Southwestern High School in Hazel Green, WI and Western Technical College in LaCrosse, WI, where he graduated with an associate degree in biomedical and industrial electronics. After graduation he worked for Nelson Muffler in Neillsville, WI for several years before moving back to be closer to family. He recently retired from John Deere Dubuque Works, where he was a member of UAW Local 94 and served as a union steward for a few years. 

Though a homebody by nature, Jeff was always the life of the party, deeply loved and respected by his family and friends. He loved a good joke and even as a child was known for keeping everyone on their toes. He especially treasured his niece and nephew who would later become the focus of his best practical jokes–from wrapping tiny individual presents inside a giant box filled with packing peanuts to hiding a new bike in the basement until there were no more Christmas gifts under the tree. More than one family gathering ended with tears and laughter. Jeff was also a mama’s boy at heart, an avid Packers and sports fan, and lover of classic Western movies.  

He is survived by his brother, John Jr. (Jean) Smith of Hazel Green, WI; nephew, Jacob (Heidi) Smith of Platteville, WI; niece, Amy (Jesse) Wunderlin of Fort Atkinson, WI; great-nephews, Carter and Nolan Smith; great-nieces, Julia, Emma and Faye Wunderlin; uncles, Jim (Joan) Burlage and Harry (Kim) Burlage, both of Kieler, WI; aunts, Jody Brothers of Peosta, IA and Mary Jo Burlage of Kieler, WI; Maribel Welling of Casseville,WI, Jan Smith of Oakland, CA, and many cousins and friends. 

Jeff was preceded in death by his parents, John and Janice; infant brother, Joseph; grandparents, Leonard and Pearl Smith and Leroy (Bud) and Arlene Burlage; aunts, Jeanie Hendricks and Ruth Burlage; uncles, Dick Burlage, Jack Burlage, Ed Hendricks, Orville Brothers, Leonard Smith, and Al Welling. 

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