William R. Smith, 68, of Burlington, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017, at St. Luke’s Medica
l Center in Milwaukee.
Bill was born in Wallace, Idaho on Sept. 21, 1948, to William Thomas and Ruby Geraldine (nee Gilseth) Hoffman. He spent his early life in Wallace where he graduated from Wallace High School in 1966. Following high school he enlisted in the Navy and served in various parts of the world during the Vietnam War as a Chief Gunners Mate. He retired from the Navy after serving his country for 20 years .
Following his retirement from the Navy, he worked at Great Lakes Naval Base in civil service and at Video Jet printing shop in Illinois. He has lived in Burlington for the last 14 years. He enjoyed riding his Harley and spending time with his family and friends.
Bill is survived by his fiancé, Kay Henney; children, Darrin (Danielle) Smith and Julie Smith; step-children, Christine (Scott) Runkel, Sarah Mieder, Amy Goldschmidt and David Goldschmidt; grandchildren, Devin, Matthew, Jackson, Zachary, Dylan, Abby, Emilie, Gabriel, Elijah and Ava. He is further survived by his sisters, Julie Crnkovich, Jeri Estill and Shelley Pierce. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Jeffery Hoffman and sister, Barbara Mesa.
Special thanks to the Heart Failure Team, CVICU nursing staff, and the 9th floor nursing staff at St. Luke’s for their wonderful care during this time. A thank you also goes out to Dr. Ali Khan for walking this journey with Bill and his family.
Memorials may be made to the St. Luke’s Heart Failure Clinic in Bill’s memory.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, Sept. 9 starting at 2 p.m. at Dave’s Saloon, 34500 Geneva Rd., New Munster. Private services for Bill will be held at a later date.
Schuette-Daniels Funeral Home and Crematory, Burlington is serving the family. Well-wishers can visit www.danielsfamilyfuneral.com
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