Bernard Smith

Bernard a?Berniea? Smith, 76, Rockford, died peacefully on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, in his home.nbsp; Born October 29, 1935, in Bradford, Illinois, son of William Myron Smith and Iscle Dickerson Smith.nbsp; Lived the majority of his life in the Rockford area.nbsp; He graduated from East High School in 1953 and served asnbsp; a member of the Naval Reserves for 8 years.nbsp; Married Norma Johnson on May 25, 1957.nbsp;nbsp; He was employed for 30 years at Sundstrand Machine Tool, after which he spent 18 years with Fibro, Inc.nbsp; After retirement he became part owner and vicepresident of Peanut Butter Playcare.nbsp; He and his wife enjoyed many trips in the United States and overseas, by land and by cruise ship.nbsp; Some of the high points of his travels were to the Fibro Home Office in Germany and a business trip to China, with a side trip to the Great Wall and other parts of Beijing. His last adventure (on the bucket list) was a train trip to California and Oregon in 2011.nbsp;nbsp; A member of Christ United Methodist Church; he also had some very special memberships in The Cruisers, the Lucky Lane Association and the Boys Wednesday Brew Club.nbsp; He appreciated cars and enjoyed driving them fast. He also enjoyed gardening, feeding and watching the birds, and earlier in his life enjoyed playing handball and racquetball.nbsp; Bernie seemed to be able to fix almost anything and had the ability to find humor in most anything and did so with a wonderful, dry sense of humor.

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Survivors include his wife, Norma; children, Barry (Nancy) Smith, Byron, Raquel Ritschel, Smithfield, KY, Letechia Shevik, Sarasota, FL; grandchildren, John Matthew San Pietro, San Diego, CA, Gia (Will) San Pietro Marshal, LaGrange, KY, Mcrea Smith and Moira Smith, Byron; Amber Ritschel and Sophie Ritschel, Smithfield, KY; greatgranddaughter, Maddie Marshal, LaGrange, KY; sisters, Jane (John) Sohner, Winnebago, Kaye Woods, San Francisco, CA, Beverly Anderson, Seattle, WA; sisterinlaw, Betty Flohr, Byron; nieces and nephews, Doug (Lori) Flohr, Elk Grove, CA, Donna Blake, Oregon, Denise Flohr, Byron, Jim (Debbie) Sohner, Winnebago and Sue Sohner, Rockford;nbsp; Predeceased by his parents and brotherinlaw, Donald Flohr. nbsp;The family would like to give nbsp;special thanks to Northern Illinois Hospice and especially their nurse, Valerie for the wonderful care and concern shown to Bernie and the family.

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Memorial service at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, October 20, 2012, in Our Masters United Methodist Church with Rev. Dr. Richard Wang and Rev. Sun Hyung Jo officiating.nbsp; Private inurnment at a later date.nbsp; Visitation from 2:00 p.m. until time of the service.nbsp; In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Northern Illinois Hospice amp; Grief Center, 4215 Newburg Rd. Rockford, IL 61108.nbsp; Express condolences and share memoriesnbsp;at www.fitzgeraldfh.com.nbsp;nbsp;The family was assisted by Fitzgerald Funeral Home amp; Crematory, Mulford Chapel, 1860 S. Mulford Road.