Warner 'Bill' F. Smith

BARRE - Warner "Bill" F. Smith, 101, of Barre , died peacefully at home Saturday, January 16, 2016 surrounded by his family. A lifelong resident of Barre, lover of Big Band music, and a bit of a “horse whisperer", he was the youngest of two sons born on the family farm July 29, 1914 to cattle dealer and dairy farmer, George F. Smith and writer and Barre historian, Elsie Hawes Smith. Bill graduated from Barre High School in 1933. He went on to receive an electrical degree from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. After graduating from Wentworth, he worked for Pullman Standard Car in Worcester and the Charles G. Allen Company in Barre prior to working for Mass Electric until he retired at the age of 65. Said one former co-worker, “Bill never asked anything of you that he wouldn’t do himself.” While working in Worcester he met Ethel E. Duffey. They married, settled in Barre and raised two sons, Warner and Wayne. They were married for 56 years. In 1968 their oldest son, Warner died in a work-related accident. Shortly thereafter, Bill and Ethel began their second family by raising their son’s three young children, Michael, Tammy, and Cheri. A civic-minded New Englander who believed “you should give back to that which has given much to you”, Bill worked for the Barre Felton Field Commission and later as a Barre Cemetery Commissioner. He was a founding member of the First Parish Church committee and a Deacon of his church. During the winter months he took it upon himself to flood the ice skating rink on School Street, much to the delight of the neighborhood children. He was a member and past Master of Mt. Zion Lodge where he had recently been honored for 75 years of service. In November of last year, he was co-recipient of the Boston Post’s Golden Cane as the oldest Barre citizen, the same honor that had been bestowed upon his grandfather, the Honorable John L. Smith and his father, George F. Smith. After Ethel’s passing in 1997, Bill attended a Barre High School reunion where he reconnected with former classmate and childhood sweetheart, Fay C. Vining. They were married on Sept. 18, 2002. He was 85, she was 84. Sociable and active well into his 90s, “a real New England gentleman” as one friend put it, Bill enjoyed spending time with his family by going out to breakfast/dinner, playing Skip-Bo with his wife, being the dependable dog-sitter whenever needed, socializing at the Barre Senior Center and Golden Age of Hubbardston, and getting away from the cold New England weather by wintering at their retirement home in Florida. Bill is survived by his wife, Fay C. Smith; his son, Wayne B. Smith and his wife, Shirley of Barre; his grandchildren, Warner Michael Smith and wife, Anastasia of Southborough, Tammy Hesse and her husband, Brian of Boxford, Cheri Smith of Bethpage, NY and Brandon W. Smith and his wife, Sharon of Barre; and six great-grandchildren, Taylor and Cody Hesse, Olivia and Julia Smith, and Ronan and Arianna Smith.Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Saturday, Jan. 23, from 12 to 2 p.m. followed by a funeral service at 2 p.m. in the Barre Congregational Church, 30 Park Street. A private committal service will be held at Buckminster Cemetery in Barre. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Barre Congregational Church, P.O. Box 936, Barre, MA 01005, or Barre Senior Center, 557 South Barre Road, Barre, MA 01005. Arrangements are under the care of the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street, Holden. To share a memory or offer an online condolence, please "sign the guestbook" on this page.