Obituary: Smith, Bert Hendrix
Born to John Albert and Mabel Smith, he and his two sisters, Louise and Jean, adored their parents and enjoyed a pleasant childhood - short on money, but long on love.
Because of his varied interests and abilities and the family’s frequent moves, Bert worked at many different jobs as a youth, the first of which was in the Amarillo stockyards at age 9.
He followed that with a paper route, haying, manufacturing, roundup ranch hand, grocery stocker, and summer work at Boeing until he joined the U.S. Army in 1945 at age 18.
After his discharge he served with the Army Transport Service.
He soon settled into a career as a truck driver/ crane operator for most of his adult life.
After a back injury ended that, he earned an electronics degree and was a technician for Xerox and Honeywell, including work on the Alaskan Pipeline terminal.
A short career in real estate rounded it all out.
After retirement he was employed locally by Cyrus O’Leary Pies and Hewlett-Packard.
Bert was known as Mr. Fix-it.
He knew how to do innumerable things and enjoyed putting something back in working condition.
He enjoyed music (mostly country, gospel, and big band), drama, dance, hunting, and most sports, especially bowling.
He was a championship bowler, even after macular degeneration took his sight.
He appreciated a good story or joke, and was a noted story-teller.
In retirement, Bert and his wife, Betty, traveled to all 50 states and 9 Canadian provinces, and also toured in Mexico, the British Isles, Israel, Egypt, Scandinavia, Europe, and China.
Bert married Mary Ann Sandmire in 1948 and they had a son, Bill.
In 1951 Bert married his college sweetheart, Elsie Melton, and to them were born Carl and Laurel.
Their lives were filled with careers, family activities, camping, dancing, bowling, PTA, and community dramatics until Elsie’s untimely death in an auto accident in 1988.
In 1989 Bert married Elsie’s sister, Betty Martin, who survives him, along with his 3 children; 3 step-children, Jeffrey, Stephen, and Linda; 12 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren.
Bert was also a beloved uncle and cousin.
Celebration of Bert’s life will be Saturday, October 31, at 11:00, at Moran United Methodist Church, 3601 E. 65th Avenue, Spokane.
Suggested memorials are Moran UMC or Washington Talking Book and Braille Library, 2021 9th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121-2783.