Taylor Smith Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Taylor Smith, a six-decade resident of San Bernardino County who served as a civil engineer with the California Division of Highways (later Caltrans) for 34 years, died Nov. 19 at the age of 97. Smith, a loving father and husband who made friends easily wherever he went, was born June 17, 1921, on a farm in Winfred, South Dakota. Raised in nearby Ireton, Iowa, he was a 1939 graduate of Ireton High School and then attended the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology for a year. Afterwards he traveled on one of his beloved motorcycles to Southern California to work for Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, Calif. With the start of World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps rising to the rank of sergeant. While stationed in Abilene, Texas, Smith met his future bride, Katie Mae Stem. They were married for 70 years until Katie’s death on Dec. 5, 2015. After the war Smith returned to the School of Mines to complete his degree in civil engineering. Afterwards he worked for Kaiser Steel in Fontana, Calif. and then joined the California Division of Highways, helping with freeway design and construction, retiring from Caltrans in 1984. Smith is survived by daughter Patricia (Dennis) Kelly of Manassas, Virginia, and son Paul Taylor Smith of Yorba Linda, California, as well as two grandsons, Colin (Jessi) Kelly of Woodbridge, Virginia, Christopher Kelly of Arlington, Virginia, and two great-grandchildren, Ryan and Gabriel Kelly. Visitation will be at Bobbitt Memorial Chapel in San Bernardino at 5 p.m., Nov. 29. The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. on Nov. 30, at Bobbitt, with a reception immediately following. Burial will follow at 12:30 p.m.

Taylor Smith

June 17, 1921 - November 19, 2018