Miller Family History, 9th Generation (Smith Child)
Maurice Eugene Smith (Sr.) (1905-1983)
118274261. Maurice Eugene Smith (Sr.) was born on , in Oakville, Napa County, California. He married Adeline Helbing on , in Oakland, Alameda County, and had one son:
| Name | Birth | Death | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1182742611 | Maurice Eugene “Gene” Smith, Jr. |
(77) |
Maurice grew up in Yountville and attended upvalley elementary schools.[Cen 1910, Obit 1983] He and his family moved into Napa by 1920 where he graduated from Napa High School in 1925.[Cen 1920, Obit 1983] He went on to work for Boneste Paper Company in San Francisco.[Obit 1983]
Adeline was a native of San Francisco. After their marriage, on August 29, 1925, the Smiths rented 1536 High Street in Alameda, Alameda County. Maurice worked as an accountant for Shell Oil.[Cen 1930]
Next the family moved to Mountain View, Santa Clara, County, by 1935, and soon after relocated to the central valley at 1111 Adoline Avenue in Fresno, Fresno County. Maurice worked as a clerk for wholesale petroleum, presumably for Shell Oil, in Fresno.[Cen 1940]
By October 1940, the Smith family moved back to Napa, where they lived at 2076 Lone Oak Avenue and Maurice worked for Theodore J. Treadway (1888-1945) at Treadway & Wigger Funeral Chapel as a funeral director. Maurice's draft registration that year, at age 35, described him as 6' tall, 188 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair, and dark complexion.[Draft 1940] Next the family moved about a mile and half closer to town at 1480 Cedar Avenue, by 1950, where Maurice continued to work at the funeral chapel and Adeline worked as a court secretary for the Napa County Superior Court.[Cen 1950, Obit 1983]
During the Korean War, son Gene served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He fought and was wounded in the Battle of Triangle Hill, October, 1952, in which U.S., U.N., and South Korean forces failed to dislodge Chinese corps from “Triangle Hill,” during 42 days of the bloodiest fighting that year. First Lieutenant Smith was awarded a Purple Heart and Silver Star “for gallantry in action in Korea in a series of assaults under enemy fire.”[Obit 2006]
Maurice retired from Treadway and Wigger Funeral Chapel after 27 years in February 1967.[News 1967] Other activities that he engaged in included:[Obit 1983]
“...a past President of the Napa Lion's Club, a past patron of the Royal Order of the Eastern Star, Silver Spray Chapter No. 59, a member of the Aahmes Temple of Oakland, Royal Arch No. 30, Knights Templar No. 34, Hi-12 Club No. 38, Yount Lodge No. 12, F&AM, as well as the Retired Mens Club and The Napa Valley Country Club. Mr. Smith was an active golfer and tennis player in his youth.”
Son Maurice Jr. and his wife threw a polynesian themed golden wedding anniversary party for his parents on August 30, 1975, at their home in Novato.[News 1975]
Maurice Eugene Smith (Sr.) died on February 15, 1983, in Napa County, California, at age 77. He was inurned at Tulocay Cemeter in Napa.[Grave]
Adeline (Helbing) Smith died 17 years later on February 6, 2000, in San Francisco.