Obituary for William Luther “Bill” Smith Jr.

Memorial services for William L. “Bill” Smith, 84, of Portales, will be at 10:00 AM, Sat., Oct. 14, 2017 at the University Baptist Church with Rev. Steve Smith and other family members officiating. All of his loving church family will be honorary pallbearers.
William L. Smith, Jr. was born Oct. 12, 1932 in Lake Arthur, NM to Edrie Loma (Frazier) and the late William Luther Smith and died at his home in Portales on Oct. 8, 2017. In 1946, the family moved to Portales, and Bill graduated from Portales High School in 1950. He immediately joined the US Navy, and served during the Korean War. While in the service, his ship and all of its crew made a brief appearance in the movie, Cain Mutiny. Upon being discharged, he returned to Portales, and began studying at the university, and graduated with a degree in business in 1960.

Throughout his working career, Mr. Smith did a wide variety of jobs, from office administration for oil companies, to dry walling and painting, and even had a photography business for several years. For a period of two years, he and his family lived in Libya, where he worked for Oasis Oil Company. In 1984, he began a career with the IRS as an auditor, and retired from that position in 1996. He was a very fair auditor, and in spite of the nature of his job Bill made many friends in the process.

On Feb. 14, 1958, in Portales, he was married to Wilma Swopes. He enjoyed doing various projects for his sons, painting and building things in his wood shop. He always kept a beautiful yard. Bill was a member of the Kiwanis Club in Clovis for several years. He was a faithful Christian and a member of the University Baptist Church where his son is the pastor. In 1992, ’95 and ’96 he did short term mission trips in Russia.

He is survived by his wife, Wilma of their home; two sons and daughters-in-law, Steve and Kathy Smith of Portales and Karl and Melissa Smith of Clovis; five grandchildren, Jeremy (Ami) Smith, Timothy Smith, Daryn Smith, Valon Smith and Marin Smith; a great-grandson, Lincoln Walker Smith; and a sister, Vera Mae Foster of Artesia. He was preceded in death by his parents and by a brother, Wesley “Bud” Smith who died in 1990.