William Fredrick Smith 85

William Fredrick Smith

April 20, 1937 – June 23, 2021

William Fredrick Smith, son of Roy and Opal Smith, was born April 20, 1937, on a farm near Kellerton, Iowa, and died June 23, 2021, at Schneidmiller Hospice House in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, at the age of 85 years, 2 months, and 1 day.

William (Bill) was one of four children. He spent his early years on farms in Decatur County, Iowa. Bill started high school in Leon High School, in Leon, Iowa, and graduated from Humeston High School in Humeston, Iowa. He joined the U.S. Air Force in April 1956 and retired from the Air Force on May 1, 1977.

On Nov. 5, 1960, Bill was married to Ruth C. Rivera, and adopted her two daughters, Lori and Melody. Bill and Ruth had a son, Troy, and a daughter, Crystal.

During his 21 years in the Air Force, Bill served as a Crypto Operator (four years), Electronic Equipment Installer (eight years) and ended his military career as a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI, nine years).

His assignments included Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Azores, Johnson Island, Vietnam and numerous bases on mainland USA. While working as a special agent, Bill was assigned to Wiesbaden, Germany and Athens, Greece.

In 1978, after retirement from the Air Force, Bill was able to obtain work which required Top Secret Security Clearance. He worked at General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas. Moving to California in 1984, he worked for Lockheed in Burbank; and after one year at Northrup in Pico Rivera, he returned to Lockheed until 1991.

Bill worked at Hughes Air Craft in Van Nuys, Calif., until 1994 when he returned to Northrup in Palmdale, Calif. In 1988, Bill started working for several Governmental Agencies as a Special Investigator and ended his career as a Special Investigator for the FBI doing background checks.

Upon retirement in 2002, Bill and his second wife, Mary Enos Smith, moved to Coeur d’Alene (CDA), Idaho, to be close to Mary’s family. Preceding Bill in death were his parents, one brother; and two sisters.

Bill is survived by his wife, Mary, of Coeur d’Alene; daughter, Lori Darling of Highland, Calif.; daughter, Melody; son, Troy and his wife Della of Barstow, Calif.; daughter, Crystal and her husband Laurence Weiss of Highland, Calif.; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and numerous other relatives in the Midwest.

Bill wrote his memoirs in 2018 as a gift to his family. He enjoyed traveling to family, school, and military reunions; worshipping at the Candlelight Church in Coeur d’Alene; playing games and fishing. To all who knew him, he was an honorable man. Interment is pending at Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake. … “no more pain or disease, no freezing or trouble, in JESUS only – eternal health and life!”

Arrangements provided by Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d’Alene.