Ryan Smith remembered by family after tragic death at Maguk waterfall

A much loved Territory man Ryan Smith, will be remembered as being inspirational and passionate about everything he did and a man who was always striving to be the best he could.

Ryan Smith, who tragically passed away earlier this month, with his dogs Rusty and Kasey. Picture: Supplied

A much loved Territory man Ryan Smith, will be remembered as being inspirational and passionate about everything he did and a man who was always striving to be the best he could.

Ryan, 32, tragically passed away at Kakadu’s Maguk, one of his favourite places to go camping, earlier this month.

His family spoke fondly of Ryan‘s gentle and genuine nature, his love of the outdoors and his Hilux and his willingness to help others.

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“Everything he set his mind to, he would do to the best of his ability … he loves his dogs and would go above and beyond for them,” partner Laura McCormack said.

“He inspired people, because he was so passionate about things. With the dogs, people would be inspired to feed their dogs properly because of how he feeds them and how healthy they are.

“One of his friends went out and bought a brand new Hilux because of his Hilux and people went and grew beards because of his.”

His passion and desire for the best saw him recently and fondly nicknamed “the golden boy” at his work at K&J Burns, where he worked as an electrician.

“He went to the ‘nth degree on everything,” mother Sheryl McDonald said.

“Ryan is a deep, soulful person with such a deep love and care for others.”

Ryan with his partner Laura McCormack. Picture: Supplied

A life filled with giving, Ryan fostered a number of dogs over the years and looking after them, before strictly considering the best owners for them.

But two of the dogs, Kasey and Rusty, remained his and partner Laura’s favourites, with the couple developing an affinity for Kasey after finding her on the Australian Working Dog rescue page, learning she had been shot in the face.

“He found a picture of Kasey and contacted her owner. He said, ‘Kasey’s special and the moment I saw a picture of her I knew she was the one for me’,” sister Laura Smith said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up in honour of Ryan, with donations to go towards funeral arrangements and towards animal recovery organisations. Picture: Supplied

“He used to do a lot of volunteer work at Aussie Pooch PAWS as well, electrician work or whatever he needed and that’s where he found Rusty, the most energetic dog and Ryan’s biggest ‘foster fail’ because he knew he belonged with him and Kasey — he was really close them.”

It wasn’t just with his canine friends he was giving, always the life of the party and making sure people were enjoying themselves, or helping out people he’d never met through handy hints in Facebook groups.

“He was always doing things for other people but he wasn’t one to say it or tell you about it,” Ms Smith said.

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“He was loved by everyone he met, he just touched so many people.”

Aussie Pooch have set up a tribute donation drive in Ryan’s honour, asking customers for pre-loved dog toys to go towards dog rescues.

A GoFundMe page has been set up in honour of Ryan, with donations to go towards funeral arrangements and towards animal recovery organisations such as Aussie Pooch or PAWS.