Joseph E. Smith

Joseph E. Smith died peacefully on June 26, 2019, at Lawlis Family Hospice with his family at his side. Joe was born on Christmas Day, 1919, in Marcellus, MI, to Millard Bucklin Smith and Ethel Emmons Smith. Joe graduated from PawPaw High School, PawPaw MI in 1937 and went on to earn an MA in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He worked in machine design for General Motors before joining the U.S. Navy in 1943. Joe was an ensign, Ninth Naval District, aboard the USS PCE-R 850. He was in Tokyo Harbor at the signing of the Japanese surrender and recalled watching US ships sailing out of the harbor with ‘Homeward Bound’ banners improvised out of bedsheets. Joe settled in Milwaukee, where he married Dorothy Strohm in 1947. They moved to Grafton in 1953, where Joe worked as Director of Engineering for EST Co. He retired from EST as Vice President in 1984. Company management wrote of him at the time,”Joe contributed greatly to the growth of EST and his intelligence, sensibility, and mild manner served as an equalizer on decision making. A great many people and things benefitted when Joe’s life touched them.” Joe and Dorothy raised five daughters, all of whom graduated from St. Paul’s Lutheran School and Grafton High School. Joe served on the Grafton School Board from 1966-1976, worked with the Grafton Sewer & Water Commission for many years, and was an active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. In his free time he loved to be out on his sailboat on Lake Michigan, and he was Commodore of the Port Washington Yacht Club in the mid-1970’s. In his retirement Joe found many interesting outlets for his keen intellect, innate curiosity, and productive nature. He logged over 500 hours with the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Paleotology Department, participating in dinosaur digs and exhibit design. He worked with Habitat for Humanity on Concordia College’s Laborers for Christ crew, and served on the Advisory Board for University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Joe is preceded in death by his beloved wife Dorothy (née Strohm), his parents, Millard and Ethel Smith, and his sister Marilynn Callsen. He is survived by his daughters: Connie (Joe) Barr, Kristi Kokes, Kerry Smith, Rebecca (Les Levitt) Smith, Patricia Smith, and Diana (Eliott) Libert. Further survived by 11 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Memorial service and visitation will be on Wednesday, July 10 at the Mueller Funeral Home and Crematory, in Grafton. The family will receive visitors from 1 to 3 pm, with a Memorial Service at 3 pm. Inurnment Ceremony will take place immediately following at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Grafton, with military honors conducted by the US Navy. Family and friends are invited to a reception to be held at the Rose-Harms American Legion Hall in Grafton, from 4:30 to 7 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Habitat for Humanity or to Rawhide Boys Ranch are appreciated.