Dee Glen Smith oral histories, 1925-1992

Dee Glen Smith was born September 30, 1925 in Brigham City, Utah the son of Ren and Seret Smith. He worked for his father, who owned a small grocery story, throughout his youth. He graduated from Box Elder High School in 1943 and quickly joined the US Army. During a leave of absence, Smith married his high school sweetheart, Ida Woodyatt in May 1944. After an honorable discharge as a corporal from the Army, Smith returned to help his father run his grocery store, quickly catching on to the daily store activity and soon taking over many responsibilities from his father. Smith joined with a partner and expanded his business, Smith's Grocery, into Ogden, Roy, and Layton, Utah. After his father passed away, Smith took over as president and began to expand even more throughout Utah and later into Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and other states. Many small grocery chains were up for sale at the time due to poor business practices and Dee Smith bought them up and consolidated them into a profitable venture. Dee Glen Smith died June 30, 1984 in Salt Lake City, Utah, leaving behind a billion-dollar business that included 128 stores and 6,500 employees.

Dee Glen Smith Biographical Timeline: