A Committed and Devoted Family Man, an Educator, a Husband,
Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Uncle, Cousin & Friend!
A Committed and Devoted Family Man, an Educator, a Husband,
Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Uncle, Cousin & Friend!
To many of his chemistry and science students within LAUSD and the USC Med-COR program, Bill Smith was known as "The Professor" with a sense of humor! Bill loved life and loved to travel and visit family. Enjoy the pictures and read the details to learn all about "Big Bill's" wonderful life!
Bill loved to read and was committed to completing his education at an early age because both of his parents were teachers in St. Louis, MO. He followed in the footsteps of his father, William T. Smith Jr., who was a teacher at Meharry Medical College and principal at Penrose High School in St. Louis, MO.
Bill graduated from Sumner High School at the age of 16!
Bill graduated from University of Iowa in 1956, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry! As an undergraduate student, Bill was also a disc jockey for his school's radio station where "Big Bill played The Blues!"
William T. Smith III was initiated into the Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. on June 1, 1954, while he was an undergraduate at the University of Iowa. This is a picture of him (name in red) when he attended the 44th Grand Conclave of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., which was held in December 1954 in Washington, DC.
In 1958, as a graduate student at USC, Bill met Gladis on the campus of USC. Their friendship blossomed into marriage. For over 62 years, they have been best friends, travel partners, and committed to one another, honoring their wedding vows.
Forever Loves ~ Bill and Gladis
As a passionate educator, Big Bill's motto was true within his professional life and also his family time. Bill began teaching chemistry at Belmont High School in 1958, where his focus was on creating experiences of fascination in chemistry for his students and very enjoyable moments. In the summer of 1975, Bill began teaching chemistry for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in the Summer Science Workshop at the California Museum of Science and Industry in Exposition Park, and he returned every summer for 5 years.
Bill Smith joined the USC Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa International, and he was a member for 62 years.
Bill loved being a member and in the beginning years of his career, Bill was also a science researcher traveling during the summer months to do research at UC Berkeley, Reed College in
Portland, OR and research at UCLA Medical Center.
In 1978, Bill joined the USC Med-COR staff as a science teacher consultant for their Saturday program with students from 18 LAUSD high schools. Bill also conducted four 3-hour chemistry labs each Spring semester at East L.A. College until 2006.
Bill started teaching Chemistry at Belmont High School (LAUSD) in 1958 when he was only 22 years old. As an Educator who loved to teach, Bill became an inspiration for many students to learn chemistry, do more within the field of science and be great! Over the years, Bill was also Faculty Sponsor & member of the Pre-Med Club and also Chairmen of
the Science department where he would discuss curriculum with other science Teachers. Bill Smith was also a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
After retiring early from Belmont High School, Bill Smith joined the faculty of California State University, Dominquez Hills as a Fieldwork Supervisor for new science and math teachers on the secondary level in 1994.
Bill continued this assignment until September 2012 and covered supervising teachers within seven different school districts in the
areas of science and math.
Bill Smith's love for his family was visible every day!
He believed in God and kept his faith and family first, always!
Love — real, unconditional love — is what Bill provided to his family. He was ever present in their daily lives, providing wisdom, guidance, professional advice, love, support, and encouragement.
Bill's family celebrates his life, and we praise God
for this mighty man of valor! (Judges 6:12 KJV)
In addition to being an educator, Bill Smith obtained his California Real Estate Broker License. Bill enjoyed helping people buy, sell, and invest in real estate in Los Angeles, CA.
Bill loved to travel and explore wonderful places, including his trip to Hong Kong. After his retirement from Belmont High School, Bill and his wife Gladis had the opportunity to travel throughout the United States visiting family and friends. During summer months, they took several Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruises. Over the years, their travels included Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Puerto Vallarta, Hawaii, and the QE2 to Bermuda.
Bill always encouraged his children, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren to do their best in all areas. In this photo, Bill, a natural born artist, enjoys drawing freely while his 3-year-old great-granddaughter Kayleigh colors. Bill loved to teach, and he would encourage all youth to "Continue onward to complete your education because no one can take away the knowledge that you gain by reading and learning in school, college, and life."
Bill was a patron of the arts and supported art education as well. He exposed his children and entire family to the arts. Over the years, Bill loved going to art museums, the theater, enjoying plays, and musical concerts. Bill especially enjoyed dance performances. In this picture, you see a beautiful moment of Bill spending time with his family, when he decided to draw (freehand) his son-in-law Edwin and his granddaughter Korley. 💕 We love his artwork. Praise God for Bill's natural talents and gifts!
💕 Forever Family Love! 💕
Bill Smith Facebook page ~ created to honor and continue the legacy of Bill Smith! "Smitty" is remembered as a happy, outgoing person whose love for people enabled him to make friends very easily. To all who became acquainted with him, he seemed to have brought joy and laughter into their lives. An endearing smile would brighten one's day. Bill let his love of life shine forth throughout his te
Linda - Belmont H.S. ~ Class of '75
“Mr. Smith was my Chemistry teacher in 1975. He was a terrific teacher. Chemistry was a very hard subject for me, but he made it fun and enjoyable. Whenever the students didn’t put in the effort he would say “there’s always next year” with smiles. I thought that was so funny! This was his way of making us stick with it and learn. He cared a lot about his s
Angie & Huntley, LaSeona and Mama Brenda remember Bill with their poem!
Cheryl Deptowicz-Diaz - Class of '91
"My husband and I (Class of 91) both had him for chemistry. We quote Mr. Smith often, just a few days ago, in fact. "This isn't underwater basket weaving!!!" Never laughed so much in a classroom. :)
Cheryl Burch McDonald ~ Belmont '66
I'm your Dad's former student at Belmont in the mid 1960s. I think I was a good one - which is pretty remarkable as I was about as far from a science nerd as it was possible to get! But I was an honor roll kid, so performance was important to me. I walked into Mr. Smith's Chemistry class knowing it was a required box I needed to check off in my journey to UC or
Daniel Kessner (Belmont ~ 1963)
Dear members of Mr. Smith's family,
I was so pleased to receive a recent e-mail from a high school friend, obviously not because it told me of Mr. Smith's passing, but because it was the first I had heard about him in many years, and I was glad to learn more about his wonderful life and career. In brief, my feeling about him as a teacher was that, from the one-semeste
Bill Smith's Legacy Shall Continue!
Bill Smith's daily passion was teaching and encouraging youth to complete their education. He was a positive source of encouragement to inspire youth to continue onward to achieve higher education. Bill also enjoyed being a supervisor for new science and math teachers on the secondary level. His life's work is the core focus of the Bill Smith Youth Empowerment Group. Our family is committed to teaching young people within urban communities about the importance of STEM and the Arts. We will encourage youth to become our future chemists, scientists, mathematicians, and supporters of the arts, just as Bill did! We want to build up the next generation of Educators who are passionate about teaching, committed to student learning being innovative and creative!
Youth empowerment programs will be developed that engage our youth, their parents, and our community. Information on how youth and their families can access available resources will be provided. If you would like to support the continuation of Bill Smith's vision and lifelong dream, please make a donation. Thank you!
We appreciate your love and support for Bill Smith's legacy.
