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Chester L. Smith Bedford, MA QCWA # 32684 |
Rev. Dr. Chester L. Smith, age 93, of Bedford, died peacefully at home on June 12, 2016, after a brief illness.
Born August 20, 1922 in Escondido, CA, he was one of three children, born to the late Hallie J. (Beard) and Alfred C. Smith. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 63 years, Rev. Elaine E. DeVries in 2012 and a son, Kevin R. Smith in 2014. Survived by his children, Judith L. O'Donnell and husband, Dennis; Cheryl Y. Wells and husband, Ward; and Geoffrey D. Smith and wife, Kathy. Also survived by 5 grandchildren: Amy O'Donnell, Sean O'Donnell, Mark O'Donnell, Matthew Wells, and Kenneth Wells; and three great-grandchildren, Evan, Dylan and LilyRose O'Donnell. After serving in the Army Signal Corps during WWII, he entered the American Baptist Seminary of the West receiving a Bachelor of Theology in 1949. He served his Lord on many levels for the American Baptist Churches USA. He was a strong advocate for bi-vocational ministry. He and his wife helped to establish the First Baptist Church of Bedford in 1956. He was involved with the Episcopal Cursillo and served as Spiritual Leader in the sister spiritual renewal programs of Tres Dias and Jubilee Journey. He loved to read anything related to science or sci-fi but his routine was to start the day with Bible reading. He had read the Bible from beginning to end multiple times and occasionally portions in Greek or Hebrew. He had a great appreciation for historical perspective in relationship to theology. His interest in Electrical Engineering lead to several college degrees and post graduate work. He was a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (I.E.E.E.) and worked on many government defense contracts for local companies like Raytheon and MITRE that involved the development and design of radar antennas. As a hobby, he was a Ham Radio operator with the call letters of K1CCL and was a member of the American Radio Relay League (A.R.R.L.) He will be missed greatly and remembered for his love of cats, his many entertaining stories, for his love and understanding of exponential mathematics which was well above the hopes of the family (and friends) to understand, for his humor which he tried to share through cartoons he drew and short stories he wrote, but mostly for his gentleness and kindness that was reflected in all he said and did. Visiting hours will be held in Shawsheen Funeral Home, 281 Great Rd., BEDFORD on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 from 10 am to 11 am.
A Funeral Service will be held at 11 am and burial will follow in Shawsheen Cemetery, Bedford. Family and friends are invited. More info and directions: www.shawsheenfuneralhome.com.