Dale "Smoky" Werner
Marriages
Carol Peiper - 1959
Obituaries
Steamboat Pilot and Today - November 11, 2019
Sept. 12, 1937 — Nov. 8, 2019
Dale “Smokey” Werner of Steamboat Springs, formerly of Craig, passed away November 8, 2019. Smokey was born in Steamboat on September 12, 1937 to Glenn and Thelma Werner. He grew up in the Yampa Valley along with two sisters, Fran and Jan. He attended the Mesa school for eight years before attending Steamboat Springs High School where he graduated in 1956 as part of a class with fewer than 30 students. After high school graduation, he spent a short stint in the Army before returning to Steamboat. Smokey married Carol Pieper in 1959. Together they raised their three daughters, Diana, Kathy and Laura where Smokey worked at the Yampa Valley Co-op for 10 years. He then began his 21-year career in the strip coal mining industry operating various equipment with Energy Fuels. He stayed with this company until it stopped its open pit operations in the early 1990’s. He then tried his hand at the Twentymile underground mine until his retirement in 1997. Smokey also owned and operated Yampa Valley Landscaping which he started in 1959 and continued operating well into his 70’s. He was active in the Jaycees, Knights of Columbus, Gold Wing Motorcycle Club, and the Yampa Valley Antique Power Club. He had a passion for the “ole iron” John Deere tractors; accumulating 9 different models. His pride and joy was his grandfather’s 1936 Model D John Deere tractor. Dale is preceded in death by his parents and his second wife, Marilyn. He is survived by three daughters, two sisters, six grandchildren and eight great grandchildren (with one more on the way). A private celebration of his life will be held by his daughters in the summer of 2020.
