Daniel Smith

Dan was born in Baldwin Park, CA to Anna and Chas Smith. He grew up in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles with his 5 sisters and a brother. He Joined the Marine Corps and served in both WW II and the Korean conflict as a flight Mechanic. He rose to the rank of Staff Sargent. Dan was always justifiably proud of his time in the Marines. After his return home he managed to marry off two of his sisters to two of his Marine Corps buddies. His sisters returned the favor by introducing him to Lily Jean Brown. They were married in June of 1958 and had one son Michael. Dan worked as an aircraft crew chief for Lockheed and MacDonnell Douglas in the early 60s. Dan moved his family to Simi Valley in the mid 60s where he worked as a school bus driver and diesel mechanic for the Simi Valley Unified School district. He later moved to the William H. Heart and Los Angeles school districts as a supervising mechanic. He also obtained his vocational teaching credentials from UCLA. He taught small engine, motorcycle and auto repair at night for the Simi Valley adult school. In 1990 he retired form the Los Angeles school district. He was an avid fisherman and woodworker. He also enjoyed touring on his motorcycles, in 1975 he and his wife Lily completed a 28 day 8000 mile circumnavigation of the continental US on his Harley. Dan passed away at home in his sleep from congestive heart failure. He is survived by his sister Elizabeth, son Michael, doughter-in-law Leigh and two grandsons: Jacob, 23 and Christian, 20. Dan’s wife of 56 years passed away just 7 hours before him at Simi Valley Adventist Hospital.