Quentin "Q.T." Smith

Age 97, of St. Paul, formerly Roseville.

The incomparable Quentin Thorne “Q.T.” Smith passed away peacefully April 1 after living life with gusto.

Born Sept. 23, 1925 in Hudson, Kansas to Theo and Goldie (McComb) Smith, he worked the family farm in El Dorado and like his father and older brothers, learned Morse Code so he could handle telegraphs and run the nearby train depot.  He saw the beautiful Nadine Speer walking down the street and managed to overcome her initial coolness and secure a date. They wed in August 1945 and were together until her death in 2012.

He moved to Minneapolis as a young father to attend Northwestern College while Rev. Billy Graham was its president. While attending school, he was interviewed for a needed job as an apartment caretaker. The owner wanted him to tell Minneapolis inspectors a lower rent then what he was charging tenants. When Q.T. said that was lying and the owner said there were plenty of men who would do it, his young son overheard Q.T. say, “When you find the man who will lie for you, you will have found the man who will lie to you.” Quentin started as a traveling Baptist preacher, then as a teacher at Bethel College, St. Cloud State and the University of Minnesota. His distinctive voice and story-telling prowess eventually led him to founding his own business as a motivational speaker.

Q.T.’s passion was the water and fishing. For 30 years, he had two cabins on Lake Mille Lacs and they and the pontoon boat were open to family and friends. If he was near the ocean, he would find someone to take him out on their boat. In his early 70s, he started a yearly August journey with his pickup camper and his fishing boat behind to fish for salmon and halibut in the bays off the Alaska coast.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife, Nadine, and his brothers, Dale, Elton, Phillip, Starr and Ivan. He is survived by his children, Dennis (Barb), David (Carey), Cindy Laszewski (Chuck), seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He also is survived by his sister, Pearl Paige.

Special thanks to the staff at Lyngblomsten Nursing Home for the care they provided the last eight years and their hospice service the past few weeks.  Also thanks to his good friend Dr. Bob Mackie and wife Marilyn for their steadfast friendship and time spent by his bedside.

Funeral service is 11:00 AM Friday, April 7 at Mueller-Bies Funeral Home-Roseville, 2130 N. Dale St. Visitation from 10-11 AM Friday at the funeral home.

Interment Roselawn Cemetery.