William Wayne Smith, 95

 

He was 95.

 

Mr. Smith, born on Oct. 6, 1926 in Montgomery, Ala., was the son of William Alton Smith and Cora Lee (Sterling) Smith. During the final years of World War II and the Korean War, he served as a Sonarman Second Class in the U.S. Navy. He joined the Otis Elevator Co. as a mechanic's helper after his return to Montgomery.

 

He was on a service call in that city when he met Sara Carmichael, a registered nurse. They married in 1951 and had seven children before Mrs. Smith's death in 1979 in West Hartford, Conn.  

Mr. Smith retired from Otis in the late 1980s as the company's director of service for North America and became an expert witness, working for Otis and other major elevator companies. During his later years with Otis, he met Linda Frasier of Westford, Mass., who also worked for the company, and they were married in 1981. 

 

 

In addition to his wife, Mr. Smith is survived by his children: Mary Jude Smith and her husband, David O. Bailey, of Honolulu; Coleman Smith and his wife, Jane, of Bloomfield, Conn.; Angela Smith of Irmo, S.C.; Michael Smith of Cornelius, N.C.; Kevin Smith and his wife, Linda, of Canton, Conn.; John Smith-Horn and his wife, Lisa, of Ellington, Conn; and Loretta Worsham and her husband, Hodge, of Oakmont, Penn.

 

He had 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. 

 

Mr. Smith also had what he always called his five "adopted" children: Chris and Coleen Hyldburg of Bourne, Mass.; Sue Levy of Metuchen, N.J.; Jocelyn LeBarnes of Buena Vista, Ga.; and Anneliese Dietrick of Big Pine Key, Fla.

 

Two brothers, Clarence and Charles Smith, and two sisters, Della Vee and Nell, all of Montgomery, predeceased him.

 

A celebration of life will be scheduled at the family's convenience. Donations in Mr. Smith's name may be made to the Salvation Army or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.