Bill Smith, a Denver-area union leader for decades, died at his Denver home Sept. 9. He was 87.
He was sick for a short time, battling sepsis.
A machinist by trade, Smith worked at Rocky Flats for years. He became a shop steward and then a negotiator for the Machinist and Aerospace Workers’ Union.
Smith worked at Rocky Flats making triggers for nuclear bombs, “but he was real ly against nuclear weapons,” said his son Denny Smith of San Francisco.
Smith was president of the Colorado AFL-CIO from 1972 until 1974.
He eventually left Rocky Flats to become a full-time union employee.
He was “a prominent advocate for labor-union, the Democratic Party and senior issues,” said Denny Smith. “He was a fair and compassionate negotiator.”
His daughter Karen Wienecke of Englewood called her father “committed to doing the right thing for the underdog.”
Denny Smith said his dad was “reasonable and committed to hearing both sides and to work for something everyone could support, or at least live with.”
Bill Smith also worked in civil rights and supported the United Farm Workers. He was an active leader in United Seniors.
Smith loved Chevrolet Corvairs. With his brother, the late Barney Smith, he restored dozens of the cars, which were usually bought from a junk dealer.
Each of his children received one of their father’s restored Corvairs as their first car, Denny Smith said. “It was a humble, almost joke of a car, but Dad just loved driving them,” he said.
In later years, Bill Smith liked the Lincoln Town Car, especially the maroon ones, Wienecke said.
William Francis Smith was born in Boulder on July 21, 1924, and went to South High School, but he left before graduating to join the Navy.
He married Mary Smith on March 17, 1951. His two brothers, Barney and James Smith, the latter of Louviers, married Mary Smith’s two sisters.
In addition to his wife, son, daughter and brother, Smith is survived by sons Tom Smith of Lakewood and Steve Smith of Seattle, and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Peggy Smith in 2009 and a son, Bob Smith, in 1995.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
