*From staff and wire reports*

Funeral services for Smiley “Smiley” Tackett were held Tuesday. Dozens attended. Hundreds more said they had intended to go.

“He was a Bass Lake legend,” said Raymond J. Johnson Jr., 46, of Pine Tree Place. “I couldn’t attend the memorial, but I was thinking about it all day.”

Tackett, died earlier this month at age 97-plus, frozen in time. He was preceded in death.

A Friend Remembers: Smiley Tackett

A luncheon was held after the service, and featured pizza burgers and coffee. Burial for Smiley Tackett will follow in the spring.