Edwin Smith

Beloved husband to Ruth Smith (who preceded him on November 26, 2009), father to Leslie and David Smith, grandfather to Heather and Jason Smith, a friend to many.

Edwin—known around the house and to the world at large as Eddie, Ed, Handsome Eddie, Uncle Eddie and Grandpa Eddie—was born in New York City, where his father was a fire captain in Astoria. Naturally, Eddie planned on becoming a fireman.

Then World War II came along and Eddie joined the Army Air Corps when he was 18, to do his part in kicking Hitler’s ass. He served in the 861st Bombardment Squadron in the 493rd Bomb Group at Debach Airfield, England, where he maintained the radio equipment on B-17s, B-29s and other planes crucial to the war effort.

He exited the Army as a sergeant in late 1945. The war was a big deal, but it was nothing like his next enlistment, on Oct. 16 1948, when he signed up to marry Ruth. You can tell from his smile in their wedding picture that Ed knew he was the luckiest man alive. They proceeded to have a blast for 61 years, laughing, dancing, traveling, robbing casinos and raising Leslie and David.

Eddie moved the family out of New York in 1953, having decided he didn’t want his children to grow up in the snow. So instead, he brought ice to Los Angeles, installing and maintaining ice machines all over the greater LA area. Before long, he became a maintenance mechanic for Northrop Corp., a job he held until he retired in 1984.

That’s when the Ruth and Eddie Show really switched into gear. They moved to a house in Murrieta, a fine redoubt on the edge of a golf course and the staging ground for trips to Vegas and Laughlin, to cruise liners on the coast, and to anywhere else that suited their fancy, which sometimes was just taking their golf cart to have burgers at the swimming pool. They may have had a day or two of rancor, but never a day without laughter together.

The laughs came harder for Ed after Ruth passed on November 26, 2009. As devastated as he was, he still showed his sunny side most of the time. He loved presiding at the head of the table with his surviving family, loved tinkering on his neighbors’ kaput electronics, loved fishing, loved shouting “Bingo!” and loved each day as much as he could without Ruth, who was never far from his mind. A couple of times in the past year, he mused, “I think I’m going to be with Ruth soon.”

And now he’s with Ruth, though first he cherished every moment spent with Leslie, David and the rest of the family. It’s our task and joy now to recall and radiate Ed’s joy for living.