Wallace Atwood Smith

Former Mattituck resident Wallace Atwood Smith, known as “Wally,” died June 3 in Norfolk, Va. at the age of 87. He had suffered from chronic respiratory infections.

He was born March 2, 1924, in Brooklyn to George Elmer Smith and Dorothy Michel Storrs. He was elected president of his graduating class at Southside High School in Rockville Centre and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., where he was a member of the RPI chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1948 as a radio tech­nician.

He married Joan Rita Richardson of Rockville Centre on June 26, 1953, at St. William the Abbot Church in Seaford. They settled in Massapequa Park and raised three children. He worked in the an­tisubmarine warfare division at Sperry Corporation until his retirement in 1985.

Mr. Smith and his wife divided their time between the family’s summer home in Mattituck and their winter residence in Polynesian Village, Englewood, Fla. According to family members, he enjoyed woodworking and winemaking and was a proud member of Mattituck Presbyterian Church.

Predeceased by his wife on April 1, 2007, Mr. Atwood spent his last years at Sentara Village in Norfolk. He is survived by his children, Douglas, of Kenmore, N.Y., Elizabeth, of Norfolk, and Carol, of Newark, Del.; and eight grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Douglas, and his sister, Beryl Nagle.

Arrangements are in the care of H.D. Oliver Funeral Homes, Norfolk Chapel, Norfolk. A service will take place during the summer.