William 'Bill' D. Smith

WILLIAM BILL D. SMITH William Bill D. Smith, 88, of Danville, passed away at 3:17 a.m. Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Bill was born on August 22nd, 1922, in Danville, the son of Eugene Geary and Verne (Douglas) Smith. He married Beverly Jean Maxwell on February 28th, 1951 in Chrisman, Illinois. She preceded him in death on April 4th, 1992. He is survived by two sons- William D. (Mary) Smith II of Jacksonville, Florida and Mark O. (Suzanne Brady) Smith of Boston, Massachusetts; three grandchildren- Sherre (Daniel) Gainey of Baltimore, Maryland, Shannon (Tom Cooper) Smith of Atlanta, Georgia and William D. (Amanda Davis) Smith III of Jacksonville, Florida; three great-grandchildren- Evan Gainey, Shelby Gainey and John Cooper; sister-in-law- Barbara Bailey of Danville, Illinois; 1 nephew- Geary Smith; 4 nieces- Elania Smith, Brenda Fee, Patricia Bailey and Lisa Nickel; and a cousin- Marge Sells. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife and a brother- Eugene Geary Smith. Bill graduated from Danville High School. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corp and served in Marianas and the Marshall Islands Operations in the South Pacific during WWII from 1943 to 1945. He later reenlisted in 1948 and served until 1952 during the Korean Conflict. He later attended Butler University. He worked as a Conductor for 35 years at the CE & I Railroad and later the CSX Railroad, until he retired in 1985. He was a member of the Elks Lodge in Danville. He enjoyed reading, dancing, traveling, and spending time with his family. He also enjoyed traveling to his Marine Corp reunions. He especially enjoyed spending time with his loving companion Leona Carter for the last 14 years. A Celebration of the life of William Bill D. Smith will be at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 21st, 2011 at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center, a Life Celebration Home, with Pastor James Blue officiating. Burial will follow the service at Sunset Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 4:00-8:00 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association. Condolences may be sent to the family at: www.sunsetfuneralhome.com.