Montgomery "Monte" William Smith

A memorial service for Montgomery “Monte” Smith, 73, of Amarillo, TX will be held at 2:00 PM, Fri., Feb. 21, 2025 in the Wheeler Mortuary Chapel in Portales, NM with Rev. C. J. Garrett officiating. His internment will be at Portales Cemetery. Judy Casady, Liz Padgett, Sue Carter, Lou Mayo, Jerry West, David Laub and Gina Munson, along with the members of the River Falls Property Owners Association Board of Directors will serve as honorary pallbearers.

Montgomery William Smith, known to most as “Monte,” was born Oct. 13, 1951 in Billings, MT to the home of Dorothy “Jean” (Smith) and Billy C. Smith, and passed from this life very suddenly on Feb. 6, 2025.  Monte grew up in Portales, NM where he played football and participated in the band, playing the tuba and later the baritone horn.

Following his graduation from Portales High School in 1969, he attended New Mexico State University.  Upon completing his undergraduate degree in 1974, he moved to Lubbock, TX where he entered Texas Tech Law School.  While attending college, he was employed by Wendell Coffee law firm, and it was there that he developed an interest in the area of Intellectual Property Law. In 1978 he joined the U.S. Army after completing the ROTC program in college. He served abroad in Germany as a captain in the JAG Corps for several years before returning stateside. In 1982 he was honorably discharged from service. In 1986, he moved to Anaheim, CA, where he worked in the oil and gas industry for UNOCAL. A year later, he took a position with Sherwood Medical in St. Louis, MO, patenting various medical devices.  In the latter part of the 1990’s, he moved to New England where he worked for Tyco International, patenting fire safety equipment and fire suppression systems.  Monte chose to retire in 2019, at which time he moved to Amarillo, TX to make his home.

On June 19, 1971 at the First Presbyterian Church in Portales, he was married to his high school sweetheart Delena “Kay” Perkins.  Eight years later they were blessed with one son, Drew.  Monte enjoyed a variety of hobbies and pastimes. He loved playing video games, especially Command and Conquer. Music remained important throughout his lifetime. He also loved his movies and television shows, particularly the movie The Martian and Perry Mason was what actually inspired his interest in the law profession. Another lifelong interest was cars of all types, but especially if they were fast. Since moving to Amarillo he was honored to be elected  and serve as Treasurer and Legal Advisor for the River Falls Property Owners Association Board of Directors.

Monte is survived by Kay, his wife of more than 53 years; his son, Drew Smith and his partner May Guerrero of Loveland, CO; a brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Kathy Smith of Nampa, ID; three sisters and a brother-in-law, Marka Summerford of Houston, TX, Miguela Fry of Verona, WI and Molly and Dan O’Brien of Albuquerque, NM; as well as a number of nieces and nephews.

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