Grandpa Vic (May 24, 1922 - January 7, 2022)

 

Amazing Grace,

how sweet the sound,

that saved a wretch like me;

I once was lost, but now am found,

was blind, but now I see.

Victor was born in Le Roy, Kansas, the second son of Justus A. and Franklyn Elrod Smith. He was raised in Southern California, and after graduation from John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles in 1940, he attended Compton Junior College prior to enlisting in the Air Corps in 1942. His wartime experience was as a Navigator-Bombardier in the Southwest Pacific area where he flew 46 combat missions in B-25 aircraft of the 38th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force.

After graduation from the Colorado School on Mines as a Metallurgical Engineer in 1949, Vic married a red-haired graduate from Children's Hospital, the love of his life, Frances Louise Quillen, who had just completed her degree in Nursing Education at Denver University. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in Yosemite with their family in 2004.

He started working for the United States Steel Corp at a small mill in Torrance, CA but was recalled during the Korean War where he served in the Flight Research Lab, Wright Field, Ohio developing high strength aircraft steels.

Returning to USS, he worked at the Pittsburg, CA mill for two years, then to San Francisco where he spent the remainder of his engineering career in Customer Technical Service on the West Coast and Hawaii. He retired in 1978 after 29 years, volunteered at the Oakland Zoo, became a General Building Contractor, and finally permanently retired from the handyman occupation in 2000.

Vic loved the Lord and read the Bible every day. He was active in the Orinda and Lafayette United Methodist Churches. He enjoyed fly fishing, hunting and the outdoors. He hiked the John Muir Trail, completing the last section with his daughter Melanie in 1995. In recent years he hiked several miles every week with his old friend Dal Sellman.

He is survived by his wife Frances, and his children, Ann Louise Gimbel (Frank) of Lafayette, David Justus Smith of Faraway Ranch (Cindy), and Melanie Jane Ruesch of Shingletown (Scott); and grand daughters Dana Geimer (Ray), and Lisa Breuer (Martin), Cody Gimbel (Brenda), Casey Smith (Lacey), and Josh Smith (Erin), and Jeremiah Ruesch (Elizabeth), and Greatgrandchildren Cheyenne Meeks, Cassidy and Blake Geimer, Alton and Joanna Smith, Oskar and Alva Breuer, Malakiah Reusch, and Ada Mae Smith.

Shortly after Christmas he contracted pneumonia and passed away peacefully with his wife of 72 years by his side. A memorial service is planned for June.

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At the age of 99, Grandpa Vic had plenty of time to prepare for his death and wrote the above I am guessing a few years ago, making updates as needed. While it is perfect for an obituary, it doesn’t quite capture how I will remember him. So here is my attempt to capture everything my Grandpa was.

He was a man who loved fried chicken, biscuits with honey and butter and had an insatiable sweet tooth. He was also known to sometimes lick the bowl clean after eating ice cream. In fact every time the kids try the same thing at home they mention him.

He was always so good about taking photos during every family gathering. You could always count on him to take a few candid shots of the family and ask for a few smiles, unfortunately he rarely found himself in front of the camera. Prior to buying a smart phone he would carry around his old digital camera.

He loved button down shirts and I honestly can’t remember him wearing anything other than them. They always had at least one breast pocket where he would keep a notepad to take notes about what was going on in our lives.

He devoted his life to serving others, whether it was helping out a family member, community member or volunteering.

He might have been a tad old fashioned when it came to relationships but had our best interests at heart.   When Dana and Ray first started dating he quipped “You aren’t still shacking up with that Rusty fellow”. And he casually asked Martin what his intentions were for our relationship after coming over to San Francisco to see our new house with Granny.

He loved god and was genuinely concerned for our souls. One year, shortly after Martin and I got married Grandpa sent us a DVD and a heartfelt letter about accepting Jesus into our hearts and why it was important to him for us to watch the enclosed video about Jesus Christ. I was slightly insulted at first thinking it was specific to just me and Martin (especially since I was the only grandchild then and now to have been actually married in a church) but come to find out he sent a similar letter along with the DVD to everyone in the family. 

Despite his best efforts, the grandkids (now grown) would still chuckle while he said grace before each meal.

He and Granny Fran always had a jigsaw puzzle in the works at their house and he always started with the edge pieces first (a fun fact I learned the weekend of his death as Granny, my mom and I spent time starting, then finishing their new 1,000 piece puzzle.) 

He had a Midwest accent even after all of the years living in CA and a hearty laughing. And he always gave a big hug and kiss on the cheek when saying hello and goodbye.

He loved the outdoors, fishing, hiking and Yosemite. And I was lucky enough to hike to the top of Mt Dana with him, my dad and Aunt Melanie after everyone else gave up along the way.

And most importantly, I am so thankful for having had so much time with him. It is not that often a man lives to be 99 years old and be so composed and mentally available (he gave up driving only a year ago).  It was my honor to have had so many memories and moments with him and to have my kids meet him as well. 

We will miss you.