Slain Artist ‘A Gentle Man’ Friends Say He Breathed Life Into Stained Glass

His work hangs in churches from Chicago to California to Coeur d’Alene.

Warm faces, inviting eyes and finely detailed colors are the mark of William J. Smith, a stained-glass painter of rare ability.

His gentle nature and the life he breathed into his work have left Smith’s friends wondering how someone could steal this artist’s own life.

Smith, 69, was found dead in his Harmony House apartment Monday. Coeur d’Alene police say someone hit Smith repeatedly on the head with an axlike object.

Investigators have made no arrests in connection with the murder, said Coeur d’Alene police Capt. Carl Bergh.

“He was a very gentle man and a store of knowledge,” said Doug Gibbs, owner of R.D. Gibbs Co. in Glendale, Calif. “I can’t imagine why something like this would happen to him.”

Gibbs and others in the stainedglass business say Smith was one of the few artists who still created stained-glass windows in their traditional form.

“He did it more for the love of the art than for the money,” said Bob Healey, a close friend of Smith’s and owner of Healey’s Stained Glass Studio in Coeur d’Alene.

Nowadays, most stained-glass windows are made from pieces of pre-colored glass held together with lead or copper foil.

But as was done in the old days, Smith took clear or lightly colored pieces of glass and hand-painted the colors and pictures on them.

Beautifully shaded faces, features lined with feeling and finely detailed blades of grass appear in his artwork.

“That’s how church work was done for centuries,” Healey said. “He was one of the last ones of the older tradition, one of the very few who knew how to paint on the glass.”

As time went on, the process became too costly for churches, and many turned to the pre-colored glass.

Those who attend Christ the King Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene can see some of Smith’s traditional work.

One of his stained-glass windows hangs in the foyer of the church. With the help of the Rev. Tim Brandt, Smith created the memorial window in 1993.

Jesus stands with open arms, a warm smile and soft brown eyes. Tiny crosses mark his hands. The blue of Lake Coeur d’Alene lies in the background, surrounded by bright green pine trees and finely drawn lilies and syringas.

“It was a labor of love; he really enjoyed it,” Brandt said.

Smith had worked with stained glass for more than 40 years. Healey said Smith grew up in Pittsburgh where he began his training. He went on to work in Chicago and Los Angeles, moving to Coeur d’Alene in the 1980s.

Healey and Smith came together about three years ago. Over time, Smith became a part of Healey’s family. He had no close relatives of his own.

Smith also became Healey’s teacher and mentor.

“Bill challenged me from the beginning, worked with me and had patience,” he said. On the day of his death, Smith had planned to teach Healey a new etching technique.

Smith also was the manager of the Harmony House apartments, where he lived, at 205 E. Indiana.

Peter Cooper, the owner of the apartments, found him dead when he went to pick up rent payments on Monday.

Bergh would not comment on whether investigators have a suspect in the murder.

“It was a sad, sad blow,” Gibbs said.

“He’s got his own memorial when you look at all the memorial windows he’s created.”