Obituary: William B. Smith, 73, Almond

ALMOND – William B. Smith, 73 of Twin Valley Terrace died December 2, 2020 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY after a brief illness. Bill was born on June 17, 1947 in Middletown, CT to William S. Smith and Lois (Barrett) Smith.

Bill grew up in Westbrook, CT, graduated from high school there and entered the Marine Corps in Aug. 1966. He served in Vietnam for a year until his injury in Sept. 1967. Bill was awarded the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and qualified as a Rifle Sharpshooter. Bill graduated from Alfred University with Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in sociology and secondary education in 1975. He taught History and Computer Technology at Canisteo Central School for 22 years. For several seasons, Bill coached men’s cross country and track and field. In 1994 the senior class dedicated the Kanistean to “Mr. Smith,” a man who “is always there for the students to count on and can always offer a word of encouragement…a man who has faced it with us.” He retired in 1997 from Canisteo and ended his professional career working as an Educational Specialist for three years at Hillside Children’s Center in Rochester. On Aug. 23, 1969 Bill married Mary Scheer of Newark, NY. For the last 47 years, they have made their home in Almond and in 2019 celebrated 50 years of marriage. They enjoyed life together visiting the children, going for motorcycle rides, boating on Keuka Lake, vacationing in Florida during the cold weather, travelling throughout the United States, and more recently spending every evening at dinner doing crossword puzzles from the paper together. Bill was a huge Red Sox fan and loved visiting Fenway Park for games. He was an avid outdoorsman, fishing on UB5 in Canada, hunting bow and shotgun and caring for his animals and his yard. He was a member of the Western NY Schuetzen Society and spent time competing in Bath and at the Alabama NY Hunt Club with single shot long guns. Bill was also a member of the Alfred Rod and Gun Club. For years Bill played in bi-weekly penny poker games with his great friends from Canisteo. More recently, he had morning coffee with friends at the Arkport American Legion. Bill was predeceased by a sister Priscilla, in 1994 and his beloved daughter Katherine in 2014. He is survived by his wife Mary; and two daughters Jennifer (Tim) Smith of Alfred Station, Julie (Kyle) McGill of Dillsburg, PA, Menachem (Katie, Alison) Horn of Cleveland, OH and nephew Jeff (Holly) Bugbee of Old Saybrook, CT. Bill’s greatest blessing was his family including his eight precious grandchildren: Hanna, William and Nolan Tormey; Makenna, Ryan and Nathan McGill; Eleanor and Henry Horn. They will carry forever his love for them, his sense of honor and duty to his country and his quiet, but strong will to stand up and do your best. Memorial donations in Bill’s name can be made to either to The Allegany County Mental Health Association, the Allegany County SPCA or to a charity of choice. Online condolences may be made to Brown and Powers Funeral Home or directly to his family at 6947 Twin Valley Terrace, Almond. A memorial service will be held in his honor this summer for the family in Fairville, NY. To send a remembrance please visit www.brownandpowersfuneralhomes.com or on Facebook @brownpowersfh, the family is being assisted by Chester A. Gosper IV director at Bender-Brown & Powers Funeral Home.