William Harold Smith

William Harold Smith, age 90, of Newark, DE, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. Born in New York, NY on June 14, 1926, Bill was the son of the late Harold and Ethel (Brown) Smith. He proudly enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1944 and served as a corpsman in the 5th and 2nd Marine Division in the initial occupation of Japan. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Association of Atomic Veterans. After military service, Bill worked as a respiratory therapist and research and development technician at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York. In later years, he served as medical engineer in charge of research and development for several well known medical manufactures. He held numerous patents and contributed to the invention of the cofflator and other respiratory devices. In 1973, Bill founded Smith’s Technical Repair Service, inspecting and maintaining respiratory equipment for several central New Jersey hospitals. He finally retired at the age of 80. Bill took great pride in his Scottish heritage. He and his beloved wife of 70 years, Dorothy, enjoyed trips to England and Scotland. Always patriotic citizens and lovers of the outdoors, Bill and Dot also explored many American national parks and historic sights. While living on Murray Street in Rahway, NJ, Bill was known to all as the neighborhood medic for minor mishaps, as well as the ” go to ” man who could fix anything. His friends and family will miss his sense of humor and warm smile. In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his daughter, Sharon Smith.. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Dorothy Isabel (Dennis) Smith; daughters, Judith Kennedy (Robert) and Susan Overstreet (Barry); grandchildren, Brad Kennedy, Amanda Montgomery (Michael) and Michael and Tyler Overstreet; and great-granddaughter, Zoe Kennedy. A visitation for family and friends will be held from 10 am until 11 am on Saturday morning, March 4, 2017, at the Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 121 West Park Place, Newark, DE, where a funeral service will begin at 11 am. Interment will be held privately in the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Bear, DE. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Folds of Honor Foundation, 5800 N. Patriot Drive, Owasso, OK 74055.