Herbert Smith

Herbert Dale ‘Bert’ Smith, 81

Herbert Dale Smith, “Bert,” passed away Dec. 28, 2016, in Coeur d’Alene. He was born Jan. 9, 1935, in St. Maries, Idaho. He was the ninth child in a family that might never have existed. Mildred Rayner, his mother, came from England on the Lusitania on Sept. 18, 1914. Had she waited until 1915, she would have been on board when the Lusitania was sunk on its next crossing. Harold Alfred Smith, Bert’s father, was also from England, but he had come over a few years earlier.

They settled in St. Maries on a 160-acre homestead. Much of it still remains in the Smith family today. Bert and all of his siblings — five brothers and three sisters — were raised there. Bert graduated from St. Maries High School and then enlisted in the United States Air Force, which allowed him to “travel.” He was fortunate enough to go to England, the country of his ancestors. Upon his discharge from the Air Force, he attended North Idaho College. There he met his future wife, Peggy Marie Graham. They were married on May 5, 1961, in Coeur d’Alene and were together 48 years. Peggy passed away Feb. 16, 2009.

Bert was employed for a short time by the Forest Service, but left to work for the Federal Bureau of Reclamation. He and Peggy moved to Boise, Idaho, for his job and lived there for 12 years. While in Boise, they became great friends (lifelong friends) with the Harms family and were Godparents to their two daughters.

Bert was only in his 40s when he had his first heart attack. He had to retire and Peggy became the family bread-winner. They moved back to Coeur d’Alene in 1977 and Peggy worked at GTE. Some years later she was transferred to Everett, Wash. They found a home in nearby Woodinville and lived there 10 years. Peggy retired and they moved back to Coeur d’Alene in 2002.

Bert developed many interests during his 40-plus years of retirement. He loved airplanes and built lots of models. He enjoyed photography and acquired an extensive collection of cameras — mainly because he never threw one away when he bought a new and better one. He enjoyed astronomy and origami and he liked to occasionally play a slot machine. He was NOT a major gambler. He would play a nickel machine, but he would only play ONE nickel and he was the happiest person in the casino when he won a round! He bought books on everything that interested him. He knew flowers and trees and birds. He also knew cars. When we went anywhere, he could tell me the model and year of any car he saw.

Bert lived at Honeysuckle Place (assisted Senior Living) for 2 1/2 years before his death. He was very blessed to make a dear friend during his last year with whom he could take walks and enjoy conversations. They laughed a lot. She said that they often giggled so much that their sides hurt. On behalf of Bert, I want to thank you so much, Lee, for your companionship. It made all the difference in the world.

Bert is survived by two sisters, Winnie Jensen (98) of St. Maries and Norma Cook (88) of Coeur d’Alene. He is also survived by nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held at a later date in Kellogg, Idaho.