Merle Warren Smith's Obituary
Merle Warren Smith, age 96, passed away in Fort Myers, FL on November, 30, 2019 after a short illness. He was born May 21, 1923 in Waukegan, Illinois, the eldest son of Merritt and Ellen Smith.He attended Bucknell University and was originally in the class of 1944, but he enlisted in the Army the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He served in World War II working as a Topographic Draftsman with the 655th Engineer Topographic Battalion in Europe. Working just behind the front lines, he produced four-color topographical maps from aerial reconnaissance photographs that allowed the US Army to see where the enemy was, where the roads were, what bridges were intact, and what key landmarks were still standing.He returned to Bucknell in 1946 and received his Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering in 1949. He used this education in his work with the Army Corps of Engineers, first surveying and documenting the US mid-Atlantic coastline (which had never been accurately surveyed), and later as the congressional budget engineer for the Lower Mississippi Valley Flood Plain project.He also enjoyed moonlighting as a Pinkerton Detective, guarding dignitaries including Utah Governor George Clyde and family during the second Eisenhower inauguration, and movie stars including Joan Crawford.Although he lived in Maryland for most of his career, he loved to travel, visiting all 50 states and more than 30 different countries. He took his family on many camping trips, a practice his children also embraced with their families. After he retired he and his wife went on many cruises, and on two occasions he also brought his entire family along.He is predeceased by his first wife, Rosemary (Palmer) Smith, his parents Merritt Parker and Ellen Julia (Gilliat) Smith, and granddaughter Danielle Smith. Merle will be dearly missed by his second wife Diana (Ivanovskaja) Smith; his brother Winfield and sister-in-law Jackie Smith of Leesburg, FL; his children Spencer (Janet) of Billings, MT; Jesse (Katy) of Ona, WV; Claire of San Diego, CA; and Warren of Annapolis, MD; his step sons, Sergey (Olga) Egorov of St. Petersburg, Russia; and Tim (Angela) Ivanovskiy of Floral City, FL. and 8 grandchildren [Darcy, Phillip, Tifany, Steed, Sean, Peter, Nicholas, Tristan], 5 step-grandchildren [Brant, Dimitri, Mathias, Artem, and Alexandra] and 7 great-grandchildren [Cory, Reese, Rachel, Gabriel, Malachi, Lydia, and Vivienne].Merle’s wish was to be cremated and have his family scatter his ashes. The family will gather at a later date for a celebration of life. Memorials may be sent in his name to Bucknell University, 301 Market Street, Suite #2, Lewisburg, PA 17837Arrangements for final care have been entrusted to Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 1589 Colonial Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida 33907, (239) 936-0555.
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