Donald William “Smitty” Smith, 81, Madison, father of two Stevens Point women, died Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King.
No funeral services will be held. Burial will be in Eastlawn Cemetery in Beloit Friday, Oct. 26.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, Nov. 24, in Madison at a location to be determined in the near future.
Memorials may be given to The Salvation Army or the Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Ave., PO Box 5632, Montgomery AL 36177.
Pisarski Funeral Homes of Stevens Point and Plover assisted the family with arrangements. Condolences may be offered online at www.pisarskifuneralhome.com.
Mr. Smith was born Sept. 10, 1931, in Alliance, Ohio, a son of the late Earnest and Natalie Smith. The family moved to Beloit where he grew up and excelled in football, wrestling and track in high school, setting one of Beloit’s longest standing records in the shotput in 1949. Recruited by Bear Bryant, he played football in Kentucky before transferring back to Beloit College.
After high school, he served in the Central Intelligence Corps where he was selected as a bodyguard for the visit of Cardinal Spellman. His tour of duty ended when he was selected to compete in the Olympic Trials for wrestling.
He was married to Carol Holmes on December 26, 1954, in Beloit.
Graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison law school, he was a trial attorney for the Department of Justice, retiring in 1996 after 26 years as an assistant attorney general for the state of Wisconsin.
He was inducted into the Beloit Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 for his accomplishments in three sports.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Laurie (Jerry) Neuwirth and Sara (Tim) Schierl, Stevens Point; one son, David (Christine); one brother, Jerry; and 10 grandchildren.
He was also preceded in death by one sister, Norma Jean.
