Walter E. Smithe, Jr., founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, dead at 86
Walter E. Smithe | Credit: Smithe family
CHICAGO - Walter E. Smithe, Jr., the founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, died earlier this week at the age of 86.
Smithe's family said he died peacefully Sunday with his wife of 64 years, Florence Flynn Smithe, by his side.
He is survived by his wife, seven children, 16 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
Smithe was born in 1936, and was raised in Chicago.
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He earned his Bachelor of Philosophy in Commerce degree from Notre Dame and then went on to receive his master's degree in Anthropology from Loyola.
Smithe and his neighborhood sweetheart, Florence, married in July 1958, and moved to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana, where he fulfilled his commitment to the U.S. Army and attained the rank of Captain, his family said.
After the Army, Smithe worked for GE and IBM in the computer industry.
He was then lured back to the family furniture business and soon pioneered the concept of custom order furniture in Chicagoland, his family said.
This became the foundation of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design.
The wake for Smithe will be held at Ryan-Parke funeral home in Park Ridge on Oct. 21, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.