Bruce Earl Smith

Bruce Earl Smith, a Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather, returned to his Heavenly Father on Thursday, August 24, 2023, just weeks before his 92nd birthday. He was born on September 12, 1931, to Jack Earl and Faye Winward Smith, in Portland, OR, soon experiencing the Great Depression and World War II as a youth. He attributed the experiences he went through with the values of strong money management and work ethic. One of his earliest memories was living on a houseboat on the Columbia River where he and his brother Victor caught and sold fish on the docks to support the family. Bruce attended school in Portland until age 7 when the family moved to Tacoma in hopes of work. His mother found an opportunity to acquire a struggling gas station with run down cabins. From age 7, Bruce remembers pumping gas, engaging customers with the art of conversation, while his mother scrambled to make correct change. He delivered newspapers from age 9 through high school. Always active in his LDS faith, he was a member of the first Lincoln Ward in Tacoma as a deacon. His duties on Sunday included airing out the Elks building from cigarette smoke and empty the shot glasses before members arrived for Sunday services; even remembering once having to call the local police to escort home an overnight Elks straggler. He attended Ferndale Elementary School, Stewart Junior High and graduated from Lincoln High in 1949. That same year, he married classmate Mary Walterbach and worked at the Tacoma Paper Mill and they had three children; Diane, Debra and Randy. In 1956, Bruce started a career in Law Enforcement as a patrolman with the Tacoma Police Department. In 1957, he worked as a prison guard at McNeil Island where he was referred to as “the Kid”. In 1958, he moved his young family to Ephrata to accept the position of deputy with Grant County Sherriff’s office. In 1960, he was hired by the Wenatchee Police Dept. from which he retired as a detective in 1983. For the last 8 years, prior to his retirement, Bruce was a polygraph examiner. While in Wenatchee, he met and married Sharon, adding her two children; Mark and Deb Ellis. They had four more children; Bryan, Shauna, Boyd and Blaine. In 1973, he obtained his AA degree from Wenatchee Valley College, often attending classes with his daughter. Many know him as their scoutmaster or youth baseball coach from the team Police Pals or as the cop who mentored local kids often picking them up just to check in. During his Law Enforcement career, Bruce received awards for his exemplary detective skills and work ethic. He continued to work as a private polygrapher upon requests from numerous agencies, running over 600+ polygraphs. Bruce was busy in retirement. He was a genealogist worker, which he loved, a beekeeper, serving many local orchards, rental association board member, cherry orchardist and Bruce was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Victor and Michael; son, Randy; and grandson, Brandon. He is survived by his children: Diane, (David) Morrison, Debra (Steve) Lacy, Bryan (Cori) Smith, Shauna (Roy) Yuill, Boyd (Reveau) Smith, Blaine (Jacqui) Smith, and Bruce Hosfeld, along with former wife, Sharon Smith and two stepchildren, Mark (Loni) Ellis and Debra (Wayne) Harris. A Funeral Service will be held Saturday, September 2, 9am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1621 Maiden Ln, Wenatchee, WA. Graveside to follow at Wenatchee City Cemetery, 1804 N Western Ave., Wenatchee, WA. Arrangements by Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee.

Bruce Earl Smith

September 12, 1931 - August 24, 2023