Harold Egbert Smith, of Flagstaff, passed away early Sunday morning on September 12th, 2010 at Flagstaff Medical Center. He was 86 years old.

Mr. Smith (who was also known as "Smitty") was born on July 4th, 1924 in Springfield, Missouri. During his early childhood, he and his family moved around quite often until they settled in Pasadena, California in 1930 where they lived for many years.

In 1942, a few months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Mr. Smith enlisted in the Navy because he felt it was important to serve his country and protect his family. He served as a Pharmacist Mate for several years; in the States as well as in the South Pacific. While he was stationed in the Russell Islands he became engaged to his sweetheart, Joyce Hooper, and they were married when he came home on leave. They had two daughters, Linda and Pam, but they later divorced. After World War ll, Mr. Smith was called to active duty for a short time during the Korean War. After his tour ended, he met Arlene Earl and they were married on October 25, 1952 in Alhambra, California. Two sons were born to them—Alan and Jeffrey.

Mr. Smith worked a variety of jobs during his lifetime, but the majority of his working career was centered on law enforcement. He was a Police officer for the Vernon, California Police Department, as well as the Monterey Park, California Police Department for many years. He retired as a Police Captain shortly after his wife, Arlene, passed away on December 16th, 1969. After her death he decided to finish his education, so he relocated to Provo, Utah with his two sons and was a student at Brigham Young University. He worked very hard and earned an Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Administration, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration, in a short period of time. During his time as a student he met and married his son's Junior High School Science teacher, Carolyn Astin. They were married on May 31, 1972 in Provo, Utah and had two children; Rebecca and Thomas. In 1976 the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona where Mr. Smith taught Criminal Justice as an Associate Professor at Northern Arizona University for about 20 years. During that time, they added five more children to the family—Gregory, Brian, Heidi, Sterling and Pete.

Mr. Smith enjoyed reading very much. In 1978, he began reading books and poetry once a week to his children's classes at Weitzel School, and continued to do so for many years. He also helped coach all seven of his son's sports teams at various times throughout his life. When he wasn't coaching he would always attend their practices. He loved to take his family to various vacation spots in California where they especially enjoyed visiting Disneyland. Mr. Smith was an active member of the Cedar Hill Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was a member of the Elks Lodge.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Carolyn Smith; His 11 children: Linda Steck of Malta, Montana; Pamela Alfieri (Randy) of Springville, CA; Alan E. Smith (Sherry) of Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Jeffrey E. Smith (Carole) of Orange, CA; Rebecca Brinkerhoff (Chanon) of Flagstaff; Thomas E. Smith (Tricia) of Flagstaff; Gregory E. Smith of Mesa, AZ; Brian E. Smith (Selina) of Prescott Valley, AZ; Heidi Brown (Ben) of Flagstaff; Sterling E. Smith of Flagstaff; Pete Smith (Amelia) of Gilbert, AZ; 27 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Herman and Vera Smith; his sister, Eleanor Lawranowicz; and his grandson, Brett Dean.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 16th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Norvel Owens Mortuary; and also at 9:00 am to 9:45 on Friday, September 17th, at the Linda Vista Building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Funeral services will follow at 10:00 am on Friday. Interment with Military Honors will occur at Citizen's Cemetery after the services.