Memorial for Kelvin Smith of Paris, ID; organist
Donation protected
We need to raise $9,000 in order to help pay for the funeral service and initial medical expenses for Kelvin Smith, of Paris, Idaho. He was my brother and he died on January 31st, 2024 in Logan, UT, at age 62. He had no medical insurance or life insurance, though he may qualify for medicaid.
Kelvin’s dream was to play the Tabernacle organ ever since he was 10 years old, and he had been the guest Tabernacle organist for years, giving recitals every other month. Also he built his own house with a cathedral ceiling so he could build his own pipe organ, which is now the largest organ in Idaho. He did recitals in his own home.
Kelvin had a Master’s degree in Organ performance from BYU, but he worked as a computer programmer for many years. He programmed his own travel site called Untraveled Roads, which was an early virtual travel site.
On that same site he had information about the organ he built in his home. And he also had free sheet music available for download, for organ, piano, and choir. This includes some of his own compositions, along with recordings he’d made, which are for sale/ download.
He was a talented musician and composer. He loved music, and his favorite composer was Bach. He gave his recitals freely, and his organ music lifted up the spirits of those who listened to it.
Kelvin had a heart attack caused by blood clots, due to pancreatic cancer. He also suffered from blood clots in his lungs and brain, and several mini-strokes. He had lost 30 pounds and could scarcely eat anything.
He only learned of the cancer two weeks before he died. He was admitted at the ER at Logan Regional Hospital on January 29th and life-lined by helicopter to Salt Lake City (Intermountain Medical Center) where he died early Wednesday morning of heart failure due to that heart attack.
He was survived by his wife, Sharon, and 7 children, all of whom are grown.
Please consider donating, as any amount will truly help his family during this difficult time. Any extra above the cost of the funeral expenses will be give to his widow to cover ay initial medical expenses or other bills that come up in the near future, to give her peace of mind.
Thank you for helping and have a wonderful day.